Development of Medical ⁹⁹Mo and ⁹⁹Mo-⁹⁹Tc^m Generator in China

⁹⁹Tc^m is the most frequently used for clinical diagnosis in nuclear medicine, accounting for some 70% of all radionuclides used for diagnosis. ⁹⁹Tc^m is mainly produced from decay of its parent nuclide ⁹⁹Mo via the ⁹⁹Mo-⁹⁹Tc^m generators. China has developed technology for medical ⁹⁹Mo and ⁹⁹Mo-⁹⁹Tc^m generators since 1960s, and has made remarkable achievements. In present work, the development of medical ⁹⁹Mo and ⁹⁹Mo-⁹⁹Tc^m generators in China is briefly reviewed, and involved problems for production of medical ⁹⁹Mo and ⁹⁹Mo-⁹⁹Tc^m generators are discussed. Furthermore, some suggestions on the future development of 99Mo and ⁹⁹Mo-⁹⁹Tc^m generators are provided, which is expected to promote the further development of radioisotopes technology in China.