“Moly cow” Radiology
July 5, 2022 | Terry Sharrer

New production method promises to end medical radioisotope shortages
From the University of Tokyo: “One of the most promising alternatives is the use of a linear particle accelerator (or “linac”), instead of nuclear reactors. A linac speeds up charged subatomic particles to a very high velocity along a straight line, as opposed to acceleration around a loop (hence “linear”). The 99Mo is produced by irradiating molybdenum trioxide with photons from the linac electron beams, and the 99mTc extracted from the decaying 99Mo by a technetium-99m generator, sometimes called a “moly cow” by its operators.” MORE
Image Credit: University of Tokyo