Pharmacist who used to work in a nuclear pharmacy - they don’t keep it in stock!
Doses are custom made for each patient every day at a (usually) offsite nuclear pharmacy, and then a van delivers them to the imaging center so they can be injected at precisely the right time to deliver the prescribed dose of radiation for the imaging!
Logistically, it doesn’t make sense for most medical centers to have their own nuclear pharmacy, so one location will service large metropolitan areas.
Happy to answer any addition questions!
Pharmer3 t1_j6z6k04 wrote
Reply to A medical isotope made from nuclear weapons waste (Tc-99m) has a six-hour half-life. How do hospitals keep it in stock? by Gwaiian
Pharmacist who used to work in a nuclear pharmacy - they don’t keep it in stock! Doses are custom made for each patient every day at a (usually) offsite nuclear pharmacy, and then a van delivers them to the imaging center so they can be injected at precisely the right time to deliver the prescribed dose of radiation for the imaging! Logistically, it doesn’t make sense for most medical centers to have their own nuclear pharmacy, so one location will service large metropolitan areas. Happy to answer any addition questions!