Medical isotopes, used in 40,000 US procedures daily, are in short supply

Medical isotope shortage threatens treatments

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The shutdown of a nuclear reactor in Canada has caused a shortage of a radioactive isotope used to detect cancers and heart disease.

That’s leading to costlier procedures that can be less effective and expose patients to more radioactivity.

Some 40,000 patients each day in the United States undergo medical imaging procedures using the isotope, technetium-99.

It’s used in body scans for cancer, heart disease or kidney illness.

The isotope is combined with a substance to target a specific organ or tumor, then that tracer is injected and a gamma camera looks at the distribution of radioactivity to spot problems.

Society of Nuclear Medicine president Dr. Michael Graham says some procedures are being postponed, and other patients are diverted into other procedures.