Thesis Project Form

Nuclear medicine is a rapidly evolving field in cancer diagnosis and treatment, with PET/CT and theranostic approaches driving a growing demand for radiopharmaceuticals. Short-lived PET radionuclides require reliable local production and uninterrupted logistics. Liguria, with its oncology network and nuclear medicine centers, provides an ideal setting to develop a quantitative model for sizing cyclotron and radiopharmacy facilities and assessing their long-term economic sustainability.

The thesis aims to determine the optimal size and configuration of a cyclotron and radiopharmacy capable of meeting Liguria’s oncological demand for radiotracers and radiopharmaceuticals, while assessing the conditions under which a public-private partnership could ensure their long-term sustainability. The study will analyse current regional nuclear medicine activity and consumption patterns and develop scenarios for future demand. These estimates will be translated into radionuclide and radiopharmaceutical production requirements to define the appropriate cyclotron, targets, synthesis modules, shielded cells, and redundancy. Technical, site, radioprotection, waste-management, regulatory, and authorization requirements will also be examined. An economic and financial analysis will estimate investment and operating costs, cost per dose, payback periods, and sensitivity to key variables. Finally, alternative public-private partnership models and risk allocation will be assessed, and the proposed framework will be validated against national and international experiences and through consultation with relevant professionals.

During the thesis, the student will acquire multidisciplinary skills covering cyclotron physics and radionuclide production, radiochemistry, radiopharmacy and GMP quality assurance, as well as oncological nuclear medicine, including PET/CT and theranostics. Further competencies will include demand forecasting, production facility sizing, Health Technology Assessment, economic and financial analysis, public-private partnerships, healthcare regulation, and radiation protection.