With federal funding confirmed, Research Institute now looking cyclotron locations

With funding confirmed, a plan for a cyclotron in Thunder Bay is now a matter of location.

The federal government re-announced its $4 million commitment to the project in its federal budget Monday. Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute CEO Michael Power said it is good news for the $9.4 million project, which has been narrowed down to three locations.

One of those locations is near the IRC Discoveries Centre on Munro Street. While there are benefits to housing the 10,000 square-foot cyclotron at the centre, Power said it is far away from Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, where the medical isotopes would be used.

The other two locations are both on the hospital site.

"We want to make very strategic decisions," Power said. "All of that planning is happening right now, we anticipate over the next number of weeks we’ll be making a decision."

One of the hospital locations would include a new three or four storey translational research facility, which could house the underground cyclotron, imaging equipment and research programs.

"Clearly a very large building but the cyclotron itself is about 10,000 square feet maximum in terms of the vault and the equipment being housed inside," he said.

Once a location is chosen, the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care will approve a master plan for the cyclotron, which is currently being built in Vancouver.