The new CERN-MEDICIS facility for the production of new innovative radioisotopes for medical research

Objective: CERN-MEDICIS (MEDical Isotope Collected from ISolde) is a new facility currently being commissioned at CERN for the production of radioisotopes for medical research. Material & method: It builds upon 50 years of experience at CERN-ISOLDE (Isotope Separation On-Line DEvice) in the production of radioisotopes by spallation of thick targets with high-energy protons. Two irradiation points have been commissioned between the existing ISOLDE target stations and the proton beam dumps, making use of the 80% of the proton beam that passes through the ISOLDE target unaffected. A radiation-hard rail system and a robotic arm are used to extract the target modules from the high-radiation area and manipulate them to storage, to a hot cell, or to an off-line mass separator. The mass separator relies on a dipole magnet previously used at the LISOL facility (Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium) which allows the collection of three samples of different mass at the same time. Results & conclusions: The civil construction of the facility is now complete and the commissioning of the different components is progressing. The first collections are expected before the end of 2016. The research programme at CERN-MEDICIS builds upon the existing medical research at CERN-ISOLDE, including the theranostic quadruplet of terbium isotopes or the optimisation of 213Bi generators. In this contribution, I shall introduce the new facility and present its current state of operation.status: publishe