Patent Application
20100243082
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid isotope delivery system and, more particularly, to a liquid isotope delivery system that can stabilize the pressure of liquid isotope, thus ensuring security.
2. Related Prior Art
Positron emission tomography (“PET”) is developing fast around the world. Fluorine-18 fluoride made by a liquid target technology is the primary nucleus used in the PET. Fluorine-18 fluoride targets are used in almost every cyclotron center. Based on fluorine-18 fluorination labeling, fluorine-18 fluoride targets are used in various chemicals, thus providing PET radiopharmaceuticals. A liquid target delivery system is important for providing stable radiation on the fluorine-18 fluoride while delivering the same because the half-life of the fluorine-18 fluoride is only 110 minutes. Therefore, a liquid target delivery system is used in almost every cyclotron center.
While making liquid isotope, a worker draws a predetermined amount of liquid from a storage bottle. The liquid is oxygen-18 water for example. Then, the worker opens a liquid-injecting valve and a gas-venting valve of a target chamber to inject the liquid into the target chamber. After that, the worker closes the liquid-injecting valve and the gas-venting valve, but opens a pressurizing valve to supply fluorine into the target chamber. Now, the target chamber is irradiated with a proton beam for causing the oxygen-18 water to react with the fluorine, thus providing fluorine-18 water.
The worker injects the oxygen-18 water into the target chamber before irradiating the oxygen-18 water and the fluorine. It is however difficult for the worker to precisely inject a desired amount of oxygen-18 water into the target chamber. Moreover, the safety of the worker could be jeopardized because of the intense radiation in the target chamber. Furthermore, the proton beam inevitably entails unstable pressure of the liquid isotope.
It is the primary objective of the present invention to provide a liquid isotope delivery system that can stabilize the pressure of liquid isotope, thus ensuring security.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the liquid isotope delivery system includes a pressure-controlling unit, an input unit, a target chamber, a proton-radiating unit and a storage unit. The pressure-controlling unit includes a first regulating valve, a second regulating valve connected to the first regulating valve and a third regulating valve connected to the first regulating valve. The input unit is connected to the second regulating valve. The target chamber is connected to the third regulating valve and the input unit. The proton-radiating unit is located near the target chamber. The storage unit is connected to the target chamber.
Other objectives, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description referring to the attached drawings.
The present invention will be described via the detailed illustration of the preferred embodiment referring to the drawings.
Referring to
The pressure-controlling unit 1 includes a first regulating valve 11, a second regulating valve 12, a third regulating valve 13, a fourth regulating valve 14 and a pressure regulator 15. The first regulating valve 11 is a high-pressure regulating valve. The first regulating valve 11 is connected to a gas tank 111.
The second regulating valve 12 is a low-pressure regulating valve. The second regulating valve 12 is connected to the first regulating valve 11. An on/off element 112 is provided between the first regulating valve 11 and the second regulating valve 12.
The third regulating valve 13 is a low-pressure regulating valve. The third regulating valve 13 is connected to the first regulating valve 11.
The fourth regulating valve 14 is connected to a gas tank 141.
The pressure regulator 15 is connected to the fourth regulating valve 14. An on/off element 151 is provided between the pressure regulator 15 and the fourth regulating valve 14. A pressure transducer 152 is connected to the pressure regulator 15. An on/off element 153 is connected to the pressure regulator 15.
The input unit 2 is connected to the second regulating valve 12. An on/off element 21 is provided between the input unit 2 and the second regulating valve 12.
The target chamber 3 is connected to the third regulating valve 13. Two on/off elements 31 and 32 are provided between the target chamber 3 and the third regulating valve 13. The target chamber 3 is connected to the input unit 2. Two on/off elements 33 and 34 are provided between the target chamber 3 and the input unit 2. A recovery bottle 36 is connected to the third regulating valve 13. An on/off element 35 is provided between the recovery bottle 36 and the third regulating valve 13.
The proton-radiating unit 4 is located near the target chamber 3.
The storage unit 5 is connected to the target chamber 3. An on/off element 51 is provided between the storage unit 5 and the target chamber 3. The storage unit 5 is connected to the input unit 2.
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The present invention has been described via the detailed illustration of the preferred embodiment. Those skilled in the art can derive variations from the preferred embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the preferred embodiment shall not limit the scope of the present invention defined in the claims.
