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Stable and unstable isotopes of the heavy noble gas xenon find use in various medical applications. However, apart from 133 Xe, used for Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography, radioactive isotopes of xenon are currently complicated to obtain in small quantities. With the GAMMA-MRI project in mind, we investigated a thermal sublimation generator of the long-lived excited state (isomer) 131 m Xe. This production method utilized the decay of 131 I, obtained commercially from a hospital supplier in the form of Na 131 I powder. Heat treatments of the Na 131 I powder and cryogenic trapping of released 131 m Xe allowed us to collect up to 88% of the produced xenon. Our method provides an isomeric mixture of 131 m Xe and 131 Xe. With improvements in scalability and chemical purification, this method could be a cost-effective source of 131 m Xe for small-scale experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]