The Oklahoma Daily, the University of Oklahoma's student newspaper, tells us about the school's college of pharmacy and its acquisition of a biomarker generator from Tennessee-based Advanced Biomarker Technologies. The paper says OU "will be the first institution in the world to install and use a biomarker generator for help in imaging and diagnosing diseases."
According to ABT's website, the biomarker generator is composed of two technologies: a shielded table-top cyclotron for producing the positron emitting isotopes of C-11 and F-18, plus a flow microchemistry subsystem for labeling specific molecules with the positron emitting isotopes. The system is unique, the company says, because it is about 10 times smaller than other PET cyclotrons and is very simple to install.
"This is the first smallest one that has been named as a biomarker generator," Vibhudutta Awasthi, College of Pharmacy researcher and professor, told the Oklahoma Daily. "Because of its simplicity, it can produce biomarkers on demand. If a patient is in the clinic and that patient needs an imaging study using a certain biomarker, then you can start by pushing the button, and within 30 to 40 minutes you can have a dose for that patient."
- read the story in the Oklahoma Daily
- and learn more about the biomarker generator