Advancing healthcare technologies is one of Rosatom’s key priorities. Today, the Russian nuclear corporation manufactures high-tech medical equipment, isotope products, and radiopharmaceuticals while building nuclear medicine centers. The main goal is to improve patient access to life-saving medical technologies, equipment, and medications. Read on to learn how these innovations are already transforming medicine in Latin America.
Rosatom ranks among the world’s top five suppliers of isotope products for nuclear medicine and leads globally in the variety of isotopes it produces.
Currently, the corporation supplies isotopes to 50 countries worldwide. For instance, in 2023, it signed a five-year contract with Brazil’s Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN) to supply lutetium-177 and actinium-225. Drugs based on these isotopes have proven highly effective in targeted therapy for a range of cancers.
These drugs are created by tagging isotopes to specially designed compounds that target specific cells or tissues for examination or destruction. The molecule delivers the isotope to the targeted cell, where the isotope destroys it during treatment or ‘highlights’ it during diagnostic procedures.
2.5 million
medical procedures using Rosatom-produced isotopes are performed globally each year
Rosatom does not only produce and supply medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals — it also delivers comprehensive ‘turnkey’ solutions for medicine, including nuclear medicine centers. One such center is currently under construction in El Alto, Bolivia, making it the world’s highest-altitude nuclear facility at 4,000 meters above sea level. The center already features a cyclotron facility for producing radiopharmaceuticals, along with a radiobiology and radioecology laboratory. The drugs produced there will enable over 5,000 cancer diagnostic and treatment procedures annually, with full operational capacity expected soon.
“This is a major breakthrough for Bolivia’s healthcare system. The country faces serious challenges in early cancer detection. Technetium-99m is one of the diagnostic agents planned for production at the center and distribution to national nuclear medicine facilities. It is one of the most widely used radioactive isotopes globally due to its high efficacy and low cost. Future staff of the isotope production lab will be trained at the Tomsk Polytechnic University, gaining unparalleled hands-on experience in producing this and other radiopharmaceuticals,” explains Oleg Dolmatov, Director of the Nuclear Technology School at the Tomsk Polytechnic University.
Bolivia’s Nuclear Research and Technology Center already operates a multipurpose irradiation unit (MIU), which uses advanced Russian gamma irradiation technology. It is applicable in agriculture to boost crop yields and extend food shelf life, and in healthcare for sterilizing medical equipment. Recently, the MIU has successfully irradiated yellow fever mosquitoes, carriers of deadly diseases. The method involves mass-breeding of pests, sterilizing them with radiation, and then releasing them at regular intervals in target areas. Unlike normal mosquitoes, these sterile insects do not reproduce, gradually reducing pest populations over time.
“This innovative insect sterilization technique aims to control mosquito populations and thereby reduce disease incidence. We continue our research to offer the best possible technology to the people of Bolivia,” wrote Bolivian President Luis Arce on his Telegram channel.
In every country where Rosatom builds new nuclear facilities, it provides targeted support for workforce training and nuclear infrastructure development. For example, since the start of the Bolivian project, over 100 Bolivians have received higher education degrees from leading technical universities in Russia.
Recently, Rosatom’s Technical Academy has hosted a two-week online course titled ‘Medical Applications of Nuclear Technology and Related Educational Programs’. Participants included university representatives, medical physicists, and officials from national nuclear energy agencies of more than 50 countries, including Ethiopia, Rwanda, Bolivia, and Nigeria. The course program covered both theoretical instruction and practical training.
“The course provided deep insights into advanced nuclear medicine technologies, innovative diagnostic and therapeutic methods, and best practices in nuclear education. Exposure to international expertise and cutting-edge research will undoubtedly enrich my lectures and benefit my students,” said Davis Mubita, a lecturer in medical physics at the Mulungushi University.
Photo by: SSC “NIIAR”, Rosatom Technical Academy, ABEN
