Speaker
Description
Cooper-67 ($^{67}$Cu) is becoming a trend radioisotope due to its theranostic applications. $^{67}$Cu has a half-life of around 2.58 days and a simultaneous emission of β$^-$ radiation and γ-rays. That trait makes this radionuclide useful for therapy and for diagnostic imaging through the SPECT-CT technique. As the scientific community look for adequate and efficient production routes, the necessity for precise calculations concerning the final activity is of paramount importance. This work seeks to employ computational codes such as PHITS, FLUKA, TALYS, TopMC in order to benchmark previous experimental results with the default physical models and the nuclear database of these software. The main goal of this project is to realize which Monte Carlo codes or deterministic calculators better estimates the production yield of this radioisotope when a target is irradiated either with charged particles or with neutrons. Desirable nuclear reactions to be analyzed include, but are not limited to: $^{70}$Zn(p,α)$^{67}$Cu, $^{67}$Zn(n,p)$^{67}$Cu, $^{68}$Zn(p,2p)$^{67}$Cu, $^{68}$Zn(γ,p)$^{67}$Cu.
Two previous experimental results performed by other institutions are used as reference. We duplicate their targets employing CAD-based software such as AutoCAD and Inventor. Then the geometry is exported to the other software for executing the irradiation routine following as much as possible their experimental conditions. The sought production yield is found as soon as the simulation has finished. We conclude which code, which physical model, and which nuclear database better resembles the real scenario. So further experimental studies can predict confidently the production yield beforehand.
