Inside a research complex in Hà Nội, nuclear science is being put to work in ways that few people would expect.
Healthcare and agriculture may seem worlds apart, but at the Hà Nội Irradiation Centre (HIC), under the Việt Nam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM), both are being transformed by nuclear technology.
Here, radiopharmaceuticals are produced for cancer diagnosis and treatment, while truckloads of fresh fruit arrive for irradiation before export. Together, they illustrate how Việt Nam is expanding the use of nuclear technology far beyond electricity generation.
"If the twentieth century was the era of nuclear power and the application of atomic energy across economic and social sectors, then the twenty-first century will be the era of nuclear science and technology, driven by an ecosystem of nuclear technologies and atomic energy industries," said Trần Chí Thành, President of VINATOM.
The centre comes alive twice a day, at 6.15am and 12.30pm, when vehicles from hospitals arrive to collect freshly produced radiopharmaceuticals. — VNS Photo Hải Anh
The centre comes alive twice a day, at 6.15am and 12.30pm, when vehicles from hospitals arrive to collect freshly produced radiopharmaceuticals. — VNS Photo Hải Anh
Each production batch must pass nine quality-control tests. — VNS Photo Hải Anh
Each production batch must pass nine quality-control tests. — VNS Photo Hải Anh
Long before dawn, engineers, pharmacists and technicians at the centre are already at work.
The centre comes alive twice a day, at 6.15am and 12.30pm, when vehicles from hospitals arrive to collect freshly produced radiopharmaceuticals that have just passed quality testing.
Inside the shielded transport containers is 18F-FDG (Fluorodeoxyglucose), a radioactive glucose analogue used in PET/CT imaging. Once injected into a patient, it helps doctors identify the location, size and metabolic activity of tumours. Unlike CT or MRI, PET/CT shows how tissues function rather than simply how they appear, improving the ability to distinguish benign from malignant tumours.
Nguyễn Quang Anh, Head of the Radiochemistry Department at HIC, said: "The radiopharmaceutical is used for initial diagnosis, treatment monitoring and tracking the progression of cancer.
"It provides doctors with a highly effective imaging tool to make more informed treatment decisions, while helping patients reduce the cost of diagnosis and treatment."
Behind every batch of radiopharmaceuticals is a race against time, with engineers, pharmacists and technicians beginning work while the city is still asleep.
"We operate two production shifts each day," he told Việt Nam News.
"To ensure hospitals receive the doses on time, cyclotron operators usually begin work between 1.30 and 2am, depending on daily orders."
When the work is finished, the radiopharmaceuticals must be delivered to hospitals within 30 minutes. The demanding schedule is dictated by the medicine itself.
“18F-FDG has a physical half-life of just over 109 minutes, meaning its radioactivity decreases by half in less than two hours,” Quang Anh said.
The short half-life benefits patients because the radioactive tracer leaves the body quickly after imaging. However, it also means FDG cannot be stockpiled or imported over long distances, making local production essential.
"That is why domestic production of FDG is essential to meeting the growing demand for diagnosis and treatment," he added.
According to HIC, over 20,000 patients in Hà Nội alone required FDG for PET/CT examinations last year. The centre supplied radiopharmaceuticals for around 17,000 of those patients. In 2025, its 13 MeV cyclotron completed more than 400 production runs. Comparable facilities worldwide typically carry out around 150 runs a year.
"That has only been possible because our technical team has mastered the technology, keeping the system running reliably at full capacity without a single technical failure disrupting the supply of radiopharmaceuticals," Quang Anh said.
Meeting that demand, however, is far from straightforward.
Experts say one of the biggest challenges is the shortage of highly specialised personnel trained in radiopharmaceutical production.
Before the centre could begin supplying FDG to hospitals, it spent eight years meeting regulatory requirements to ensure every dose complied with strict safety and quality standards. Each production batch must pass nine quality-control tests. Failure in any one of them means the entire batch must be discarded.
“Any malfunction involving the cyclotron, synthesis module, sterile filtration system, quality-control equipment or GMP procedures can result in the loss of an entire production batch," Quang Anh said.
The centre provides radioactive pharmaceuticals to 11 hospitals across Hà Nội and the neighbouring province of Hải Dương.
For Nguyễn Thế Vinh, Director of HIC, every dose represents an opportunity for a patient.
"Maintaining a stable supply of radiopharmaceuticals is both our responsibility and our mission," he said.
“We are also researching more specialised drugs and will soon begin production for clinical application.”
Yet healthcare is only part of the story.
Elsewhere at the centre, behind 1.8-metre-thick concrete walls, nuclear technology is helping Vietnamese fruit reach some of the world's most demanding export markets.
Food irradiation uses ionising radiation, typically gamma rays or electron beams, to eliminate insects, parasites and harmful microorganisms.
Trần Minh Quỳnh, Deputy Director of HIC, said: “We are approved to irradiate three types of fruit for the US market and the same three for Australia: lychees, mangoes and longans.
“After Australia's Department of Agriculture and Water Resources approved irradiated lychees processed at the facility, export-qualified growing areas in Bắc Giang (now part of Bắc Ninh Province) expanded. Since then, we have processed an average of around 100 tonnes each year.”
A farmer harvests lychees. — VNA/VNS Photo Đồng Thúy
A farmer harvests lychees. — VNA/VNS Photo Đồng Thúy
Every shipment processed at the centre undergoes a rigorous quality-control procedure, from product inspection and dose calculation to post-treatment verification.
One of the most critical steps is developing dose maps, which determine how radiation is distributed throughout each shipment to ensure every product receives the required treatment.
"The importance is not to use the highest possible dose, but the right dose for each product and each treatment purpose," Quỳnh said.
Using fruit irradiation for quarantine treatment as an example, he said: “Our current quarantine irradiation capacity is around 30 tonnes per day. If we are allowed to increase the radiation source, we can process even larger volumes.”
Meanwhile, dietary supplements require significantly higher doses of irradiation, typically five to 10 kilograys (kGy). "That is around 15 times higher," Quỳnh said.
"As a result, the irradiation process takes much longer, and our daily processing capacity falls to around two tonnes."
The facility operates under stringent nuclear safety regulations. Radiation monitors installed throughout the facility continuously measure dose levels to ensure they remain within regulatory safety limits.
The irradiation chamber is enclosed by 1.8-metre-thick reinforced-concrete walls and equipped with warning systems and automatic safety interlocks.
In case anyone accidentally enters a restricted area while the irradiator is operating, the Cobalt-60 radioactive source is automatically lowered into its shielded underground storage position, immediately halting the irradiation process.
Beyond meeting quarantine standards, the Deputy Director of HIC emphasised that with the advantages of participating in the US preclearance quarantine programme, the shipment is customs-cleared in the centre.
“Once customs clearance is completed, it can be transported directly to the airport or seaport for export to the US," Quỳnh said.
"Upon arrival in the US, the shipment does not need to undergo quarantine inspection again.”
From diagnosing cancer to helping Vietnamese fruit reach overseas markets, nuclear technology is quietly becoming part of everyday life in Việt Nam. At the Hà Nội Irradiation Centre, atoms are serving not only science, but also farmers, doctors and patients alike. — VNS
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