The new CERN-MEDICIS (Medical Isotopes Collected from ISOLDE) facility produced radioisotopes for medical research for the first time. These radioisotopes are destined primarily for hospitals and research centres in Switzerland and across Europe. 

“Radioisotopes are used in precision medicine to diagnose cancers, as well as other diseases such as heart irregularities, and to deliver very small radiation doses exactly where they are needed to avoid destroying the surrounding healthy tissue,” said Thierry Stora, MEDICIS project coordinator. “With the start of MEDICIS, we can now produce unconventional isotopes and help to expand the range of applications.”

The first batch produced was Terbium 155, which is considered a promising radioisotope for diagnosing prostate cancer.

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