New custom-built water chiller installed to support radiochemistry

The UW Department of Radiology is celebrating the commissioning of a new custom-built water chiller which replaces a 20-year-old system that had failed. The massive ‘Titan’ chiller, manufactured by Advantage Engineering in Iowa, is required for operation of the cyclotron in the Radiology Radiochemistry center.

The cyclotron in turn is used to produce radiopharmaceuticals used for molecular imaging by researchers in Radiology and other university departments. The chiller cools the cyclotron’s vacuum pumps, which can reach 500 deg F.  The chiller replacement is the first step of a cyclotron upgrade, which is also over 20 years old. 

The replacement project took two years to plan and involved over a dozen groups in and outside of the university. The Radiology effort was led by project manager Tina Kim and the overall project by Kim Wisecup, Senior Manager in the Dean’s Office. The Radiochemistry center is led by Delphine Chen, MD.

At the commissioning celebration Dushyant Sahani, MD, chair of Radiology, noted that this project was an example of outstanding teamwork and evidence of our department’s support for research and the Radiochemistry Program.