Photo-excitation production of medically interesting isomers using intense γ-ray source.

Photon-induced nuclear excitation (i.e. photo-excitation) can be used for production of nuclear isomers, which have potential applications in astrophysics, energy storage, medical diagnosis and treatment. This paper presents a feasibility study on photo-excitation production of four nuclear isomers (Rh, In and Lu) with intense γ-ray source based on laser-electron Compton scattering (LCS). The decay properties of these isomers and their potential applications in medical diagnosis and treatment were reviewed. The cross-section curve, simulated yield and activity of product of each photo-excitation process were calculated. The cutoff energy of LCS γ-ray beam was optimized by adjusting electron beam energy in order to maximize the isomer activity. It is found that the specific activity of the above-mentioned isomers can exceed ~0.2 GBq/g for 6-h target irradiation at an intensity of 10 γ/s. Our simulation results suggest the prospect of producing medically interesting radionuclides with photo-excitation using the state-of-art LCS γ-ray beam facility.