Development of an automation system for iodine-125 brachytherapy seed encapsulated by Nd:YAG laser welding

The aim of this work is to develop an automation system for iodine-125 radioactive seed production by Nd:YAG laser welding, which has been used successfully in low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy treatment. This small seed consists of a welded titanium capsule, with 0.8 mm in diameter and 4.5 mm in length, containing iodine-125 adsorbed onto a silver rod. The iodine-125 seeds are implanted into the human prostate to irradiate the tumor for cancer treatment. Nowadays, the Radiation Technology Center, at Institute for Nuclear and Energy Research, Săo Paulo, Brazil (IPEN-CNEN/SP) imports and distributes 36,000 iodine-125 seeds per year, for the clinics and hospitals in the country. However, the Brazilian market potential is now over 8,000 iodine-125 seeds per month. The local production of these iodine-125 radioactive sources became a priority for the Institute, in order to reduce the price and the problems of prostate cancer management. It will permit to spread their use to a larger number of patients in Brazil. On the other hand, the industrial automation plays an important role for iodine-125 seeds in order to increase the productivity, with high quality and assurance, avoiding human factors, implementing and operating with good manufacturing practices (GMP). The technology consists of appliance electronic and electro-mechanical parts and components to control machines and processes. The automation system technology for iodine-125 seed production developed in this work was mainly assembled employing a programmable logic controller (PLC), a stepper motor, an Nd:YAG laser welding machine and a supervisory. The statistical repeatability of correctly encapsulated sealed sources with this automation system is greater than 95 per cent.