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Iodine is an essential trace element, found in many foods and an essential part of thyroid biology. Iodine-123 is a synthetic radioisotope produced for imaging, with a half-life of about 13 hours.
Iodine-123 is a near-ideal single-photon imaging isotope. It emits a gamma photon of moderate energy that is efficiently detected by a gamma camera, and it does so without the beta radiation that would add unnecessary dose, making it well suited to routine SPECT imaging while keeping patient exposure low.
Iodine-123 is used to image the thyroid, to assess dopamine transporters in the brain for suspected Parkinson's disease using ioflupane, and, as iodine-123 MIBG, to image neuroblastoma. Its clean imaging profile has made it a mainstay of diagnostic nuclear medicine.
Iodine-123 is produced most purely by proton irradiation of enriched xenon-124, which decays through xenon-123 to iodine-123. Its short half-life means it cannot be stored, demanding regional cyclotron capacity and rapid distribution, while the enriched xenon target makes production at small volumes costly.
StandardX is developing accelerator-based production for a cost-effective and scalable supply of iodine-123.