Medical Isotope Production
Building India's first domestic fast-neutron isotope factory — reducing 100% import dependency for critical cancer diagnostics.
The Challenge
India’s Critical Dependency on Imported Isotopes
Over 30 million Indians require nuclear medicine procedures annually, yet India imports nearly all its critical medical isotopes. Tc-99m — used in 80% of all diagnostic nuclear medicine scans worldwide — has a 6-hour half-life, meaning supply chain disruptions directly translate to cancelled patient appointments and delayed diagnoses. Emerging therapeutic isotopes like Lu-177 (prostate cancer), Cu-64 (PET imaging), and Sc-47 (theranostics) are even harder to source. Several are produced exclusively in a handful of research reactors globally, creating a fragile supply chain.
Our Approach
Domestic Fast-Neutron Isotope Production
ASPL Fusion is building India’s first domestic fast-neutron isotope production facility using a magnetic mirror fusion device. Our target portfolio includes ten isotopes: Tc-99m, Lu-177, Cu-64, Cu-67, Sc-47, Y-90, I-131, Sr-89, Tb-161, and Ho-166. Several — particularly Cu-64, Cu-67, and Sc-47 — require 14.1 MeV fast neutrons that only fusion or D-T sources provide, making them structurally impossible to produce in conventional reactors.
Why It Matters
Key Benefits
Supply Chain Independence
Domestic production eliminates dependency on imported isotopes with short half-lives, ensuring reliable availability for India’s 30M+ annual nuclear medicine patients.
Reactor-Inaccessible Isotopes
Fast-neutron production unlocks isotopes like Cu-64, Cu-67, and Sc-47 that conventional reactors cannot produce — opening new diagnostic and therapeutic pathways.
Scalable Production
A single progressively-upgraded neutron platform can serve multiple hospitals and scale production as demand grows, without requiring new reactor licensing.
Who This Serves
Industries & Applications
- Nuclear medicine departments requiring reliable Tc-99m supply for diagnostic imaging
- Radiopharmaceutical companies developing Lu-177 and Cu-64 based therapies
- Cancer centres adopting targeted radionuclide therapy (PSMA, PRRT)
- Government health systems seeking to reduce isotope import dependency
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Related Applications
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