High beam current operation of a PETtrace™ cyclotron for 18F- production.

Upgrades and optimisation achieved 160 μA total target current operation of a GE PETtrace cyclotron in dual target mode for the routine production of [(18)F]FDG for >2 years. Approximately 900 GBq of (18)F(-) and >500 GBq of [(18)F]FDG can be produced routinely in a single production run, meeting the routine [(18)F]FDG requirements with our customer base and achieving economies of scale. Production of >1 TBq of (18)F(-) in a single run was achieved. Reliability, saturation and synthesis yields were not adversely affected.