Good News for Cancer and Heart Disease Patients: US Nuclear Partner Achieves Critical Milestone Proving New Way to Fill Multi-Billion/Year Shortage of Radioisotopes for Diagnostics and Treatments

  • The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine warns about severe shortages of radioisotopes that are required to non-invasively diagnose heart disease, cancer, other health issues, and to treat over half of all cancers
  • Radioisotopes are largely made in only 5 outdated and unreliable nuclear fission reactors that are all located outside the United States
  • Supply chain effects not yet known as major radioisotope supplier, NRU Chalk River Reactor, was permanently shuttered a few months ago and is now being demolished
  • US Nuclear and their partner MIFTEC Laboratories, have developed a revolutionary new way to produce large quantities of radioisotopes at about half the cost of today’s outdated and unreliable methods
  • Critical “1010” milestone toward producing radioisotopes recently achieved by MIFTEC at University of Nevada, Reno National Terawatt Facility
Medical isotopes are minute amounts of radioactive substances commonly used to diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease and a variety of health issues. Over 40 million procedures using radioisotopes are performed each year. They are injected into the body to facilitate those targeted and the whole body scans to enable doctors to determine (without the use of invasive, risky and costly exploratory surgery) whether the heart and cardiovascular system has adequate blood flow; whether cancer has spread to a patient’s bones or elsewhere; and to help diagnose gallbladder, kidney, thyroid, nerve, brain disorders, and more. When delivered into a malignant tumor, isotopes can kill the cancer cells minimizing damage to nearby healthy tissue. Worldwide shortages of radioisotopes are already impacting the quality of health-care globally and experts warn about the likelihood of further deterioration until a major new source for supply comes online. Because they are largely produced in very expensive and outdated nuclear fission reactors, the availability of radioisotopes is susceptible to unexpected shutdowns such as the recent breakdown and closure of the Lucas Heights radioisotope producing nuclear reactor in Australia and the permanent closure of the big Chalk River NRU Canadian reactor. An example of the extraordinarily high costs to build a nuclear fission reactor today, and the equally challenging length of time isotope generators for North America and Asia, and makes US Nuclear a sales representative for all MIFTEC products. The agreement also makes US Nuclear a 10% equity owner in MIFTEC with the potential to increase its stake in the near future. With US Nuclear being designated as the exclusive manufacturer of the MIFTEC isotope generators, US Nuclear expects to be a major market participant in the US$10B worldwide industry upon reaching final testing and implementation.
A recent press release from US Nuclear states: to build one is Georgia Power’s newest twin Vogtle reactor that may top initial estimates of $14 billion and reach $21 billion, according to recent Georgia Public Service Commission testimony. The first two Vogtle Units begun in 1971 took 18 years to build and were a decade over schedule at a final price of $9 billion — ten times the original budget.
The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology says, “The production of medical isotopes is in crisis and is built on a house of cards; adequate production is dependent on 5 aging nuclear reactors that are being stretched beyond their lifetime operational capacities. In 2008, the president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine stated that the United States and other countries are not prepared to adequately deal with a shortage crisis, nor could they anticipate or prevent additional shortages. Since 2007, as reactor shutdowns have occurred, nuclear medicine practitioners throughout North America and Europe, in particular, have needed to ration medical isotopes, cancel or postpone procedures, and pay higher costs for medical isotopes. This has created ethical problems surrounding beneficent care for patients, and rationing decisions are frequently being made by individual practitioners who may not have sufficient knowledge or expertise in effective and sound priority-setting frame-works.”
NOW THERE IS GOOD NEWS FOR CANCER AND HEART DISEASE PATIENTS
US Nuclear Corp.’s partner, MIFTEC Laboratories, Inc., has discovered a revolutionary new way to make commercial quantities of radioisotopes in their fusion power generators. The fusion based method they are developing is simple, safe, and cost-effective. It uses an isotope of hydrogen as fuel, which is derived from seawater and is simple, safe, and cost-effective compared to the current method of using highly enriched or low enriched uranium (HEU/LEU) that results in dangerous, long-term radioactive byproducts.
Jerry Simmons, MIFTEC CEO says, “Neutron flux of 1012is required to make radioisotopes in commercial quantities, and the exciting achievement of 1010 by Dr. Hafiz Rahman, President and Chief Scientist and his staff at MIFTEC Labs and the University of Nevada, Reno National Terawatt Facility, tells us that our scientific predictions and device will work as designed. MIFTEC’s larger and more powerful machine currently in the design phase is expected to achieve, and even surpass, the minimum parameter of 1012for radiopharmaceutical production.”
US Nuclear Corp. and MIFTEC recently signed a definitive agreement which formally names US Nuclear as the exclusive manufacturer of MIFTEC’s revolutionary medical isotope generators for North America and Asia, and makes US Nuclear a sales representative for all MIFTEC products. The agreement also makes US Nuclear a 10% equity owner in MIFTEC with the potential to increase its stake in the near future.
With US Nuclear being designated as the exclusive manufacturer of the MIFTEC isotope generators, US Nuclear expects to be a major market participant in the US $10B worldwide industry upon reaching final testing and implementation.
A recent press release from US Nuclear states:
“We are proud of the many accomplishments reached to date, including:
  • US Patent issue for radionuclide production using Z- pinch neutron source.
  • Ongoing collaborations with the University of California, San Diego and the University of Nevada, Reno National Terawatt Facility for laboratory experiments and advancement of MIFTEC technology And planned actions:
  • Planned production of Mo-99 using the safe, efficient, environmentally friendly and scalable Staged Z–Pinch technology, producing no long-term nuclear waste
  • MIFTEC technology with the expected capability of providing the nuclear medicine industry with on-site isotope production at a cost savings of  up to 50% of current facilities.”

Bob Goldstein, the CEO of US Nuclear, graduated from MIT with a degree in Physics and also has a degree in Engineering from Stanford. He has authored more than 40 white papers and presentations on radiation measurement and his work has been met and approved by US Federal standards set by the EPA, FDA, and NRC. He also works closely with Los Alamos, Sandia and Jefferson National Labs. His family’s first experience in nuclear physics goes back to the 1940s when his father was involved in the historic Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb.Mr. Goldstein founded US Nuclear and is known for delivering the most sensitive, accurate and reliable instruments in the world. The quality of their work is confirmed by a list of loyal and repeat customers such as NASA, the EPA, Department of Energy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, MIT, Pacific Gas & Electric, General Electric, Lawrence Livermore, Oakridge National Lab and many more. US Nuclear has enjoyed a long-standing financial history of stable sales and modest profitability, but in 2017 the perfect storm or new and sustained growth spawned a sales increase of 50% with several new very large opportunities blossoming in the large and underserved radioisotope market and the environmental monitoring market that is forecast to hit $20 billion by 2021. For example, China is converting all of their coal-fired power plants that are responsible for dangerous polluted air and water, to about 200 fission nuclear reactors that all require the best radiation monitoring equipment in order to ensure safety. The Chinese nuclear agency claims that each individual nuclear power plant requires about $8,000,000 in the highest quality and most reliable radiation monitoring devices. With World Nuclear Power Organization’s forecast for a growing number of nuclear power plants to produce electricity (none planned to produce radio-isotopes), the demand for radiation monitoring devices also grows. Other large opportunities for US Nuclear are their unique products recently offered for radon mitigation in homes and offices and the use of drones to mount their sophisticated monitoring devices. Radon is commonly found in many homes and is one of the leading known causes of lung cancer. Goldman Sachs sees the drone market growing to a  very large size by 2020.In conclusion, US Nuclear is enjoying strong growth from its core business, and on top of that, is well positioned to become a dominant supplier in a multi-billion-dollar healthcare market of radioisotopes. Goldstein says, “Given the failing state of essential medical isotope production facilities, this first-ever achievement to meet and exceed the 1010 milestone in fusion neutron production could not come at a better time. Additionally, the projected cost savings of up to 50% over the current imported resources; the idea of on-site production; the low cost and shorter time to build the generators, and the environmental benefit of a non-proliferating process that precludes the hazards of fission-based methods; should make for important upgrades ahead in the vital medical isotope supply chain.”

US Nuclear has enjoyed a long-standing financial history of stable sales and modest profitability, but in 2017 the perfect storm for new and sustained growth spawned a sales increase of 50% with several new very large opportunities blossoming in the large and underserved radioisotope market, and the environmental monitoring market that is forecast to hit $20 billion by 2021.