Reactor-Free Neutrons: Medical & Industrial Advances with Dr. Sengbusch

This podcast discusses exciting innovations in neutron production:

• How Phoenix generates neutrons with a thousand times less nuclear material than a reactor and includes the safety of an “off-switch.”
• Why this technology is essential to the medical, air travel, and aerospace fields.
• How in addition to radioisotopes in medicine like the molybdenum 99 production, Phoenix can produce neutrons with tremendous flexibility key to industrial needs.
• What else Shine Medical plans to make, including isotopes with therapeutic potential for diseases like cancer.
• What else Phoenix is working on including an electronic machine to replace the difficult-to-handle isotope Californium 252.

Even Sengbusch, PhD, MBA, and president of Phoenix, discusses the history of Shine Medical and Phoenix and how their work to produce neutrons through new technology leaves the danger and limitations of nuclear reactors far behind. Greg Piefer, founder and CEO of Shine Medical was unable to join the conversation because of travel issues, but Dr. Sengbusch discusses both companies and what they accomplish. Shine Medical spun from Phoenix in 2010 to focus specifically on radioisotopes in medicine. Phoenix produces neutron generators that Shine then uses for isotopes useful in medical technology imaging procedures.

Phoenix focuses on molybdenum 99 production, which has been the workhorse in nuclear medicine. Currently only two places worldwide manufacture molybdenum 99, and Phoenix will soon be able to make this isotope without a nuclear reactor. 

When it decays, Moly 99 emits detectable gamma rays that work as markers for imaging techniques. For example, it can attach to heart-specific glucose and then provide organ information through imaging. It can also attach to cancer cells and give a clear image for cancer detection.

For more information, see https://phoenixwi.com/ and https://shinemed.com/.

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