Production of medical radioisotopes at the Belgian nuclear research centre SCK CEN’s BR2 research reactor met the needs of 13 million patients in 2025, a new record.

SCK CEN said it had increased the number of operating days from 160 to 210 a year in 2020. This led to a record during of 12 million patients who received diagnosis or treatment thanks to that production. This was five million more than the previous average.

By 2025, 13 million patients were relying on BR2’s production for diagnosis or treatment, SCK CEN said.