Applications of Hybrid Metaheuristic Algorithms for Optimization of Production Operations and Transportation Management in Medical Radioisotope Production

Particle accelerators utilized in producing medical radioisotopes are often at acompetitive disadvantage to nuclear reactors for producing the neutron-abundant species currently dominating the diagnostic and therapeutic medical use landscape. Reliance on foreign supply chains for isotopes such as 99mTc has seen shortages in the previous decades, affecting the access to care for many Americans. Often confronted with competitive disadvantages, businesses have hesitated to enter this business space and are dilatory in meeting domestic production needs. The legislative drive to eliminate uranium-based targets for irradiation and production of medical radioisotopes in overseas reactors presents additional complications to the supply chain. Alternate production pathway facilities manufacturing neutron and proton-abundant isotope species may be necessary to realize these goals. Production and logistics optimization provide complex problem spaces to be examined to increase the competitiveness of particle accelerator-based production strategies. The application of metaheuristic algorithms to aid in the planning and executing the production and transportation of decaying inventories shows effective increases in cost and time savings compared to conventional planning methodologies. Regional accelerator-based production centers may bridge the gap and decrease reliance on foreign radioisotope supply chains, increasing domestic access to radiotherapy, diagnosis, and palliative care.

Author

• McCumber, Joshua Akaba

Language

• English

Date created

• 2025

Type of Work

• Dissertation

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Engineering Management

Degree

• D.Engr.

Advisor

• Bierce, Jonathan
• Blackford, Joseph P

Committee Member(s)

• Biemer, Steven

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/ns0646795