News
News Release
Cyclomedical Applications Group, LLC to be Contract Operator of New Wisconsin Medical Cyclotron Facility
Contact: James F. Lamb, Ph.D.
+1-865-670-9021
jlamb@cyclomedical.com
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee,
2004 May 17—Cyclomedical Applications Group of Knoxville, TN has concluded an agreement with Wisconsin Medical Cyclotron, LLC to be the contract operator of a new cyclotron facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that is now officially in operation. Cyclomedical's founder, Dr. Jim Lamb, has set up and operated similar facilities around the country, including the cyclotron facility at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in Baltimore.
Commercial distribution of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to PET Scanner operators in southeast Wisconsin was initiated on May 3. FDG is the primary agent used in positron emission tomography (PET) scanning. PET scanning is the fastest growing medical imaging method in the U.S. It is used primarily for cancer detection and diagnosis, and for planning the treatment of cancer. It also has emerging clinical applications in cardiology and neurology.
Because Fluorine-18, the radioactive element in FDG, decays with a half-life of only 110 minutes, cyclotron facilities must be located near PET scanner operations. The cyclotron facility that Wisconsin Medical Cyclotron established is centrally located and is the first such production facility in Wisconsin. There are currently 12 PET scanners being operated in Wisconsin and a total of approximately 25 are projected. The FDG for Wisconsin’s PET scanner operators has been shipped into the state from Illinois or Minnesota in the past.
The new facility utilizes the GE Healthcare PETtrace cyclotron, which is GE’s largest capacity cyclotron. GE Healthcare has become the world's leading supplier of medical cyclotrons for this application. The PETtrace installed in Milwaukee is self-shielded so that radiation exposure to site employees and to the general public in neighboring spaces is well below established guidelines. More than one hundred cyclotrons are safely in use in the U.S.
Dr. James Lamb, President of Cyclomed, announced, “We look forward to helping Wisconsin Medical Cyclotron to offer an excellent service to PET scanner operators in the region.”
Cyclomedical Applications Group is an organization of experienced radiopharmaceutical experts serving the radiopharmaceutical industry, especially owners and operators of medical cyclotrons dedicated to the production of positron emitting radioisotopes. It works primarily with facilities producing and distributing F-18 FDG–the most widely used positron-emitting radiopharmaceutical in PET scanning.
Consulting services offered by the company range from short-term consultation to longer-term retainer arrangements and assistance with regulatory agencies as well as cyclotron operation and FDG production problems. Contract management services range from full responsibility for a cyclotron/FDG production facility to a monitoring posture in support of an in-place management team.
Cyclomed’s goal is to provide a full range of support expertise including FDG market research and development, facility financing, facility planning and operation, licensing and safety, and FDA regulatory issues. The company currently has operational responsibility for several cyclotron/FDG facilities and is providing cyclotron consultation services to a number of cyclotron operating companies. For more information, see the Cyclomed web site at www.cyclomedical.com.