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First practical use for nuclear fusion could help cancer treatment

Fusion reactors could be used to produce radioactive isotopes for hospitals way before they become useful power generators

By Matthew Sparkes

10 November 2023

A woman receiving radiation therapy for breast cancer

Radioisotopes are used in radiation therapy for breast cancer

Mark Kostich/Getty Images

The first useful application of fusion reactors may be to create radioactive isotopes for cancer treatment or medical imaging rather than to generate energy, claims a UK start-up firm.

Scientists and engineers have worked on building a fusion reactor for a century, and a practical fusion power station is still thought to be decades away.

But Astral Systems is working on tiny fusion reactors that don’t attempt to generate large amounts of power, or even to equal the amount of…

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