Nuclear medicine – Flashcards

1803- John Dalton Considered the father of the modern theory of atoms and molecules 1895- Wilhelm Roentgen Discovered x-ray 1896- Henri Becquerel Discovered naturally occurring radioactive substances 1898- Marie Curie Discovered two new elements in the uranium ore 1958- Hal Anger Introduced Gamma camera 1960- David Edwards and Roy Kuhl Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) camera 1980s SPECT imaging became standard practice 1923- George de Hevesy Considered the father of Nuclear Medicine 1931- Ernest Lawrence Invented the cyclotron device used to produce (man-made) radioactive tracers

Medical Specialty focuses on the use of radioactive materials for diagnosis, therapy, and medical research.

radioactive drug used for diagnosis or therapy

Radioactive isotope used to allow a biological process to be seen

Device that uses the emission of light from a crystal struck by gamma rays to produce an image

-creates transaxial images -Proton=Neutron+ Positron+Neutrino -The positron and neutrino are both ejected from the nucleus -Positron annihilation occurs when a positron interacts with a free electron

A PET gantry may have 30 to 60 rings, each ring has as many as 1000 detectors

Image-images that relates anatomical position

Describes an atomic species Isotopes same number of protons and electrons but different number of neutrons

-Determines stability of atom -At certain ratios atoms are unstable

Process that occurs when atoms attempt to regain stability

Created to show how parent nuclide decays to daughter or ground state Unique to each radionuclide Half-life

-Produced in reactors or particle accelerators -Very long half-lives Thousands of years

-Most commonly used and produced in generators -Generators make available Short-lived daughters Technetium-99 (99mTc) -Molybdenum-99 (99Mo)

Two components 1. Radionuclide 2. Pharmaceutical

Can be bound to biologically active compounds or drugs to create a radiopharmaceutical

-Measure of radioactivity -Corresponds to the decay rate

can be liquid, solid, or gaseous

-Scintillate -Scintillation detector -Components Collimator Crystal and light pipe Detector electronics computer

Acquisition of a single image of a particular structure

Displays the distribution of radiopharmaceutical over a specific period

Creates thin slices of an organ similar to CT and MRI

vivo "within the living body"

Survey to evaluate patients with diffuse musculoskeletal symptoms, metabolic disorders, or malignancies

Noninvasive studies that assess cardiac performance

-Thyroid scan 99mTc pertechnetate or 123I (Iodine-123) can be used. 99mTc offers less radiation to the patient compared to 131I. -131I thyroid uptake measurement Radioiodine is concentrated by the thyroid gland in a manner that reflects the ability of the gland to handle stable dietary iodine. -The higher the uptake of 131I, the more active the thyroid -The lower the uptake of 131I, the less functional the gland

Potential for detecting and treating cancer

Evaluation of physiologic function

Diagnostic tool in evaluating inflammation, infection and abscesses

Evaluate pulmonary emboli, chronic bronchitis, asthma

Contrast lymphangiography, MRI, and CT methods to evaluate status of lymph nodes