✍️ By Karalee Greer | WBN News – Kitsilano | May 11, 2025

Located on the campus of the University of British Columbia, TRIUMF is Canada's national particle accelerator centre and a global leader in nuclear and particle physics. Founded in 1968 by UBC, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Victoria, it was created to serve scientific needs beyond the scope of a single institution.

A cornerstone of TRIUMF’s public impact is medical isotope production. These isotopes are essential in nuclear medicine, particularly for diagnostic imaging via PET and SPECT scans. Through decades of innovation, TRIUMF has produced isotopes like fluorine-18 and technetium-99m, which support early detection and monitoring of cancers and neurological diseases. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIUMF

At the heart of this mission is the Institute for Advanced Medical Isotopes (IAMI)—a $50 million facility featuring the TR-24 medical cyclotron, one of the world’s most advanced machines for isotope production. IAMI enables cutting-edge research into next-generation radiopharmaceuticals and expands Canada’s capacity to supply isotopes domestically and abroad. https://www.chem.ubc.ca/medical-isotope-production-triumf-imaging-treatment https://triumf.ca/facilities-experiments/iami/

TRIUMF has also emerged as a global leader in the production of actinium-225, a rare and highly promising isotope used in targeted alpha therapy—a precision approach to destroying cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. Its scarcity has led some to call it “the world’s rarest drug.”

To meet the short half-lives of these isotopes, TRIUMF operates a just-in-time delivery system, transporting them via shielded containers through dedicated underground corridors to nearby facilities such as UBC Hospital—sometimes within minutes of production. https://navigator.innovation.ca/en/facility/triumf/advanced-rare-isotope-laboratory-ariel

Through state-of-the-art science and strategic partnerships, TRIUMF is accelerating hope—harnessing atomic energy to heal and innovate on a global scale.
🔗 Learn more: https://www.triumf.ca

Karalee Greer - Publisher

Tags: #WBN News Kitsilano #Karalee Greer #Kitsilano #TRIUMF UBC #UBC Research #Medical Isotopes #Cancer Therapy #Nuclear Medicine

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