The University of Oklahoma's student newspaper, The Oklahoma Daily, reported the school's college of pharmacy will acquire a biomarker generator from Tennessee-based Advanced Biomarker Technologies (ABT).

The University stated it "will be the first institution in the world to install and use a biomarker generator for help in imaging and diagnosing diseases," according to a report in Fierce Biotech.

ABT's website says the biomarker generator is composed of two technologies: a shielded table-top cyclotron for producing the positron emitting isotopes of C-11 and F-18, plus a flow microchemistry subsystem for labeling specific molecules with the positron emitting isotopes. The system is unique, according to ABT, because it is about 10 times smaller than other PET cyclotrons and is easy to install.

"This is the first, smallest one that has been named as a biomarker generator," Vibhudutta Awasthi, college of pharmacy researcher and professor, told the Oklahoma Daily. "Because of its simplicity, it can produce biomarkers on demand. If a patient is in the clinic and that patient needs an imaging study using a certain biomarker, you can push the button and within 30 to 40 minutes you can have a dose for that patient."