The Canadian nuclear reactor that went offline in mid-November, threatening supplies of medical radioisotopes, may be back in operation as early as next week, Bloomberg reports.

Because of the shutdown, hospitals and healthcare providers in the U.S. and Canada faced a potential severe shortage of medical imaging isotopes. The problem caused delays in nuclear exams. An estimated 15 million diagnostic medical studies are performed each year in the U.S. for heart ailments, various cancers, and gallbladder problems.

Medical treatments were delayed, deferred, or outright canceled at hospitals worldwide due to the shutdown, according to Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation.
The National Research Universal reactor at Chalk River, Ontario ceased operation November 18 for a planned week of maintenance. The work was discovered to require installation of an electrical back-up system that left the facility dark for considerably longer, according to MDS Nordion, a leading supplier of medical isotopes. The company has been working with its back-up supply network to mitigate the impact of the isotope shortage.

The substance produced by the reactor, Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) is used to make technetium-99, the most widely used isotope in nuclear medicine. The contrast agent is injected into patients to illuminate anatomy and pathology during medical imaging. The downed reactor is the source of 80 percent of the world's supply. Isotopes created at the Canadian reactor decay rapidly, and therefore cannot be stockpiled, leading to shortages of the material. Molybdenum-99 has a half-life of only 66 hours so supplies must be continuously replenished.

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