First Production of ¹⁵O-water using the MedTrace bedside P3 system

It was a moment of great joy, when MedTrace Pharma, together with local staff at Aarhus University Hospital, this Saturday (March 2^nd, 2019) produced the first test-dose of ¹⁵O-water using the new MedTrace ¹⁵O-water generator, the P3 system. The testdose was 1,669 MBq (volume: 2ml) – or more than four times the required dose for a patient exam. The production took place just two hours after the P3 system was connected to the local cyclotron for the first time. ¹⁵O-water is the ideal tracer for measuring perfusion of the heart and this is a big step towards making ¹⁵O-water available to patients. 

The P3 system was installed at Aarhus University Hospital at the new Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET in the middle of February and, finally, this Saturday, the P3 system was connected to the local cyclotron for the first time. 

The cyclotron supplies the P3 system with ¹⁵O gas through 45 meters of pipes. The ¹⁵O gas is then converted into ¹⁵O-water inside the P3 system, which is positioned next to the patient in the PET/CT scanner room, and a preset dose delivered to the patient. The first production yielded more than 2.5 GBq (decayed to 1.7 GBq at the time of measurement in a separate dose calibrator) at a relatively low target beam current, leaving ample room for delivering a wide range of patient doses. 

In the next phase, Aarhus University Hospital will set up a quality control program and perform preclinical testing before the first dose is given to a patient.