MIS_NI_PPT

Medical Imaging Systems
20EI742
Unit 5
Radionuclide Imaging
• Interaction of nuclear particles and matter
• Nuclear sources
• Radionuclide generators
• Nuclear radiation detectors
• Rectilinear scanner
• Scintillation camera
• SPECT, PET
Thermal Imaging
• Medical thermography
• Infrared detectors
• Thermographic equipment
• Pyroelectric vision camera
Text Books
1. Kirk Shung, Michael B Smith and

BanjaminTsui, “Principles of Medical
Imaging”, First Edition, Academic Press,
1992.
2. R S Khandpur, “Handbook of Biomedical

Instrumentation”, Second Edition, Tata
McGraw Hill, 2003.
Course Outcomes
CO1: Explain the concepts related to medical imaging
system sources (X-Ray, CT, Gamma ray, ultrasound,
MRI)
CO2: Explain the technology behind instrumentation used
in medical imaging systems
CO3: Discuss the different modes of operation and
algorithms used in medical imaging machines
CO4: List the advantages and limitations of available
equipment and systems to provide a safe
radiographic examination
CO5: Illustrate the applications of the different imaging
modalities
• Radioactivity (emission of ionizing radiation or particles)

from naturally occurring radioisotopes was discovered by
Becquerel in 1896.
• In 1934, the Curies (husband Jean Frederic and wife Irene)
produced radiophosphorous , the first artificial radioisotope,
and coined the words radioactive and radioactivity.
• These historical events started nuclear medicine, a branch of
medicine that utilizes mainly artificial radioisotopes in the
diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
• With the advance in the production of artificial
radionuclides, nuclear medicine has grown into an
important clinical and research area in modern medicine.
• Radionuclides can be labeled with various pharmaceuticals

to form radiopharmaceuticals.
• Administration of these radiopharmaceuticals through
injection, inhalation, or orally brings the radionuclide to the
designated tissues or passage ways.
• The "trace" amount of radiopharmaceuticals (in the order of
nanograms) used in clinical nuclear medicine has little
effect on the biochemical and physiological functions of the
systems under study.
• The measurement of biochemical and physiological
functions using radionuclides and sensitive imaging
techniques are the fundamental basis of nuclear medicine.
• Fundamentals of Radioactivity
Nuclear Particles
• A number of naturally occurring unstable or radioactive
isotopes emit radiation and/or nuclear particles when
they disintegrate.
• The most well-known types are the alpha, beta, and
gamma emissions
• Nuclear stability has been found to be dependent on the
neutron/proton ratio within the nucleus.
• At low atomic number, the nuclei are stable when the
numbers of neutrons and protons are equal, whereas at
high atomic number, the nuclei are stable when the
number of neutrons is approximately 1.5 times the
Fundamentals of Radioactivity
• Nuclei with an unfavorable neutron/proton ratio will

disintegrate or decay into stable nuclei by
spontaneous emission of nuclear particles.
• A neutron rich nucleus will undergo the conversion
represented schematically by
where n, p+ , e- and ve represent neutron, proton,

electron or beta particle, and anti-electron neutrino,
respectively.
• A proton-rich nucleus may undergo the conversion
where ve is an electron neutrino and e+ is the

antiparticle of an electron, also known as positron.
• A positron has the same mass as an electron but
carries a positive charge of the same magnitude as
an electron.
• Fundamentals of Radioactivity
• An element with a given atomic number has a fixed

number of protons in its nucleus (e.g., carbon has six
protons in its nucleus).
• However, the number of neutrons in the nucleus
may vary.
• Elements with the same number of protons but a
different number of neutrons are called isotopes.
• Isotopes can also be produced artificially by
bombarding a nucleus with high-energy particles.
• All isotopes used in nuclear medicine are artificially

produced and radioactive.
• The radioactive isotopes are also called
radioisotopes or radionuclides.
• The gamma radiation from these radionuclides is
primarily the emission used in imaging due to its
high penetrating power through thick tissues
compared to the alpha and beta emissions.
• The gamma radiation from radionuclides is

primarily the emission used in imaging due to its
high penetrating power through thick tissues
compared to the alpha and beta emissions.
• Radioactive decay is the process by which an
unstable nucleus is transformed into a more stable
daughter nucleus.
• Depending on the specific mode of decay, the
transformation often involves particle and/or photon
emissions and the release of nuclear energy.
Modes of decay
• Electron capture decay

• Isomeric decay
• Positron decay
Electron capture decay
• A proton-rich nucleus may transform to the stable

state by capturing one of its own orbital electrons.
The electron combines with a proton to form a
neutron and a neutrino.
• The transition energy is released as kinetic energy of
the neutrino.
• There could be gamma radiation associated with
electron capture. When the electron vacancy is
filled, additional energy is released in the form of
characteristic X-rays and Auger electrons.
Isomeric decay
A metastable radionuclide decays by emitting γ

rays, and the daughter nucleus differs from its parent
only in that it is in its stable state.
Positron decay
• When a positron collides with an electron, both

particles annihilate to form two 511-keV photons
moving in opposite directions.
• The use of radionuclides with positron decay and the

detection of annihilation photons form the basic
principles of positron emission tomography (PET).
Interaction of Nuclear Particles and Matter
1. Alpha Particles
An alpha particle is a helium nucleus consisting of two

neutrons and two positively charged protons. Most
radionuclide that decay by alpha emission have large nuclei.
The average energy of an emitted alpha particle ranges from

3 to 9 MeV.
• The range of an alpha particle in air before being

stopped is proportional to its energy raised to the three-half
power.
• Due to its dual positive charge and a large mass, the

alpha particle has strong interactive power and loses its
energy primarily by the ionization or excitation of other
particles or atoms.
• The ionization ability of an alpha particle can be

expressed in terms of the specific ionization defined as the
number of ions produced per unit length.
2. Beta Particles
• When beta particles interact with a medium, both

characteristic and white X-ray radiation will be produced.
• The range of a beta particle is difficult to determine

because of its smaller mass and charge.
• However, it is found to be proportional to its energy but

inversely related to the density of the medium.
3. Gamma Rays
• Gamma rays are identical to X-rays except for their origin.
• X-rays are extranuclear in origin whereas gamma rays are

intranuclear.
• The interaction of low-energy gamma rays and matter is identical to

the interaction between X-rays and matter.
• Two additional types of interactions can also occur with gamma rays
carrying energy greater than 1.02 MeV.
Nuclear Sources
3. Gamma Rays
• They are pair production and photo disintegration.
• In pair production, out of the total photon energy, 1.02 MeV is

converted into the rest mass of an electron-positron pair when the
gamma ray photon travels near a large electric field surrounding the
nucleus.
• Photon energy in excess of 1.02 MeV is converted to the kinetic

energy of the electron and positron.
• In photo disintegration, the gamma ray photon is absorbed by the

nucleus, and an alpha particle is subsequently ejected from the
nucleus.
Nuclear Sources
• Most naturally occurring radioactive isotopes are not useful in nuclear

medicine because of their long half-lives and charged particle
emissions.
• Artificially produced radioisotopes are exclusively used in

radionuclide imaging.
• Artificially produced radioisotopes are created by bombarding stable

isotopes with high-energy photons or nuclear particles.
• The stable isotopes undergo nuclear transformation and convert into

unstable nuclei, or radioisotopes, which in turn transform into another
stable isotope through radioactive decay.
Nuclear Sources
• Radioisotopes can be produced by nuclear reactors or by charged-

particle accelerators. In nuclear reactors, new radioisotopes are
generated through the neutron activation processes.
• Alternatively, accelerators are used to accelerate charged particles

such as protons and deuterons to very high energy. These high-energy
charged particles can be directed to activate target material producing
radioisotopes.
Radionuclide Generators
• A radionuclide generator is an apparatus that contains a parent-

daughter radioisotope pair. The device allows separation and
extraction of the daughter radioisotope from the parent.
• Inside the generator, the parent 99 Mo is absorbed on an alumina

column or by alumina beads.
• The parent radioisotope 99 Mo has a half-life of 2.5 days and decays

according to the following reaction
where e- and ve are electron and anti-electron neutrino, respectively.
• The daughter radioisotope is the metastable 99mTc which has a half-

life of 6 hours and decays to the stable nuclei 99Tc by emitting
gamma radiation at 140 keV.
• Since 99mTc does not bind with alumina, it can be eluted from
alumina with saline.
• After elution, the 99mTc activity is replenished in a few hours from

the decay of 99Mo .
• Problems associated with technetium generators are related to "break

through" of 99Mo and aluminium ions, which means that part of
99Mo and aluminium ions is also eluted with 99mTc by saline.
• These "break through" problems should be avoided to minimize

patient radiation dose and ensure purity of the daughter radioisotope.
Nuclear Radiation Detectors
Three types of detectors are used to detect emissions from radioactive

decays.
They are
1. Ion collection detectors
2. Scintillation detectors
3. Semiconductor detectors
Ion Collection Detector

• It consists of two electrodes (the negative and positive electrodes

are called the cathode and anode, respectively) and a separated
volume of air or gas of high atomic number such as xenon.
• An external voltage source is applied to the electrodes.
• The volume of air or gas acts as an insulator until it is ionized by

radiations incident on the detector causing a short pulse of electric
current in the detector circuit.
• A plot of the current Id as a function of the applied voltage is

shown.
• When the applied voltage is set at zero, the current is zero even
though ion pairs are being formed continuously as a result of the
radiations.
• This is because the ion pairs do not have enough energy to
separate and they recombine to form a neutral atom.
• Detectors operating in this range of applied voltage (or region 1)
are known as ionization chambers.
• The ionization chambers are suited for detecting high-intensity
radiations.
• The current produced is linearly proportional to the intensity of
radiation at a certain voltage.
• As the applied voltage is increased, more and more electrons

acquire enough energy to reach the anode, thereby resulting in an
increase in current.
• Further increase of the applied voltage causes the electrons and

the positive ions to gain enough energy to ionize other air or gas
molecules.
• Therefore, a steeper increase in current is observed.
• Detectors operating in this region (region 2), where the current is

proportional to the incident radiation, are called proportional counters.
• When the applied voltage is increased beyond region 2, a point
will be reached where almost all of the molecules are ionized.
• An increase in applied voltage results in only a very small

increase in current.
• Geiger-Muller (GM) counters operate in this region (region 3).
• They are best suited for detecting a small amount of radioactivity

because a single event will trigger an avalanche of ionization
throughout the gas volume, independent of the type of nuclear
radiation.
• Further increase in the applied voltage beyond region 3 results in

spontaneous ionization within the detector volume.
• The current will increase again in this so-called spontaneous
discharge region.
• However, the spontaneous discharge region should be avoided
because no useful information can be obtained.
Disadvantages
1. Poor detection efficiency for high energy γ rays.
2. Long response time
Scintillation Detectors
Consists of a scintillation crystal such as Nal(Tl) for
converting high-energy X- or gamma-ray photons into
visible light photons.
The Nal(Tl) is most popular in radionuclide imaging due to

• High density
• Relatively fast response time
• Ease in handling
• Low cost.
• Lead shielding is important to reduce detection of

background radiation by the crystal.
• When an X- or gamma-ray photon is absorbed by the
crystal, the intensity of light scintillations or the number of
visible light photon emissions generated is proportional to
the energy of the absorbed photon.
• These visible light photons are then converted into
electrons by the photocathode.
• Photomultiplier tube (PMT) consists of a number
dynodes at increasingly higher electric potential.
• The electrons from the photocathode are accelerated

toward the anode through the stages of dynodes, each
releasing an increasing number of secondary electrons.
• The total electron multiplication factor of a PMT is in

the order of 6^10 for a 10-stage PMT.
• The magnitude of the final electric pulse from the PMT

is proportional to the number of light photons incident on
the PMT.
• This electric pulse is then amplified by the amplifier and

analyzed by a pulse height analyzer (PHA) to determine the
energy of the absorbed photon.
• By specifying a window, only electric pulses with

certain heights for counting are selected.
• Since the pulse height is proportional to the energy of

the absorbed photons, the pulse height window is also called
the energy window.
Solid State Detectors


• When reversely biased, a depletion region characterized
by the absence of free charge will be created near the p-n
junction on a semiconductor such as silicon (Si) or
germanium (Ge).
• A gamma-ray photon or energized particle can interact
with the semiconductor material to form electron/hole pairs.
• With the application of the bias voltage, there will be an
increase in the reverse current Ir whose magnitude is
directly proportional to the absorbed radiation energy.
• Semiconductors have superior energy resolution in the

order of a few keV and fast response time of about 10^-9
sec.
• However, their applications in nuclear medicine are limited
due to their small size and high cost.
Radionuclide Imaging Systems
Rectilinear Scanner
Rectilinear Scanner
• Consists of a scintillation detection system with a
focused collimator, a mechanical scanning device, and a
recorder system.
• The collimator acts like the lens in an optical imaging
system.
• Instead of focusing the gamma photons by refraction, the
collimator is a passive device that allows gamma radiation
to pass through the collimator hole properly to interact with
the crystal.
• Other gamma photons are blocked by the lead shield or
septa of the collimator.
Rectilinear Scanner
• The collimator has major effects on the spatial resolution
and detection efficiency of the rectilinear scanner.
• The detected events at each scanning position are recorded
on a recording medium such as CRT or film to produce the
recorded image for viewing and/or archiving.
• Depending on the recording medium, the recorded image
consists of a pattern of dots or light intensity distribution.
• The density of dots or light intensity level corresponds to
the relative concentration of radionuclide in the organ of
interest.
Scintillation Camera
• Known as the gamma camera or the Anger camera, was
first proposed and developed by Anger in the late 1950s.
• It is the most commonly used imaging device in

radionuclide imaging .
• There are two major components of a scintillation

camera,
• Camera head
• Electronic processing unit
• The camera head consists of the collimator and the

scintillation crystal.
• the camera collimator determines the spatial
resolution and detection efficiency of the
scintillation camera.
• Typical camera collimator consists of parallel holes
that provide a one-to-one relation between the size
of the object distribution and the image
• The scintillation crystal in a modern large

field-of-view (LFOV) camera is 38 cm in
diameter.
• The crystal thickness is a trade-off between the

intrinsic resolution of the camera and detection
efficiency of the incident photons.
Single Positron Emission Tomography
(SPECT)
• The basic principles of transverse-section tomography

or single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)
are very similar to X-ray CT.
• By dividing a transverse section into a matrix of small
compartments or voxels.
• The radioactivity of each voxel can be computed from
projection data obtained from full 360° around the patient.
• The projection data can be obtained by translating and
rotating arrays of multiple detectors (multidetector
approach) or by rotating one or more scintillation cameras
around the patient (camera-based approach).
(SPECT)
(SPECT)
• The SPECT method was first investigated by Kuhl

and Edwards in 1963, years before the development of
X-ray CT. The original SPECT system, the Mark IV
scanner, consisted of 4 linear detector arrays arranged to
form a square opening .
• Each detector array consisted of eight Nal(Tl)
detectors.
• By offsetting the detector arrays by one fourth of
the detector spacing, a total of 32 linear samples can be
obtained by rotating the detector array through 360°.
(SPECT)
(SPECT)
Advantages
• High count-rate capability
Disadvantages
• Require many components
• Expensive to construct and maintain
• Most of the systems are capable of imaging
a single slice.
(SPECT)
• The camera-based SPECT system was first

studied by Budinger in 1974 with a stationary
camera, the projection views were obtained by
rotating the patient.
• The modern SPECT system using a rotating
camera was developed independently by Keyes and
Jaszczak in 1977.
• Today SPECT systems consists of single rotating
camera.
(SPECT)
(SPECT)
Clinical applications
• Detection of tumor
• Assessing myocardial infarction
• Assessing blood perfusion in the brain
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
• Is a functional imaging technique that uses

radioisotopes called radiotracers to visualize and
measure changes in metabolic processes.
• Different tracers are used for various imaging
purposes, depending on the target process within the
body.
• A radiopharmaceutical or a radioisotope attached

to a drug is injected into the body as a tracer.
• When the radiopharmaceutical undergoes beta
plus decay, a positron is emitted, and when the
positron interacts with an ordinary electron, the two
particles annihilate and gamma rays are emitted.
• These gamma rays are detected by gamma
cameras to form a three-dimensional image, in a
similar way that an X-ray image is captured.
• Furthermore, soon after being emitted, a positron

interacts with materials and combines with an
electron, typically within 1 to 3 mm range from the
emission site, to form two gamma photons with 511-
keV energy traveling in opposite directions.
• Two scintillation detectors with a fast

coincidence circuit can be used to detect the two
photons.
• The function of the coincidence circuit is to

allow a detected signal to be registered only if two
events are detected within a certain time interval.
• It also acts as an "electronic collimator" that
specifies the region of view of the coincidence
detector systems.
Advantages over SPECT
• Detection efficiency of electronic collimator is higher

than the passive collimators used in SPECT.
• The imaging is more sensitive than SPECT.
• The attenuation effects are smaller than SPECT due to
high energy photons and are independent of the origin
of the emission.
Disadvantages
• Positron emitters have short half-lives i.e.,

radionuclides have to be produced on site.
• Cyclotron units capable of producing positron
emitters are now available for installation in hospital
sites.
• However, the additional costs of a cyclotron unit is a
major deterrent to the widespread use of PET.
Thermal Imaging
Medical Thermography
• The medical thermograph is a sensitive infrared camera

which presents a video image of the temperature
distribution over the surface of the skin.
• This image enables temperature differences to be seen
instantaneously, providing good evidence of any
abnormality.
• Radiography provides essential information on
anatomical structures and abnormalities while thermography
indicates metabolic process and circulation changes.
Thermal Imaging
• The human body absorbs infrared radiation

without reflection, and emits part of its own
thermal energy in the form of infrared radiation.
• The intensity of this radiant energy
corresponds to the temperature of the radiant
surface.
• Therefore, possible to measure the varying
intensity of radiation at a certain distance from
the body and thus determine the surface
temperature.
Thermal Imaging
Thermal Imaging
• In a normal healthy subject, the body

temperature may vary considerably from time to
time, but the skin temperature pattern generally
demonstrates characteristic features, and a
remarkably consistent bilateral symmetry.
• Thermography is the science of visualizing these
patterns and determining any deviations from the
normal because of pathological changes.
• Thermography often facilitates detection of
pathological changes before any other method of
investigation.
Thermal Imaging
Advantages
• Non-invasive, there is no contact between the

patient and system
• No radiation hazard
• Real-time system.
Thermal Imaging
• The examination of the female breast as a

reliable aid for diagnosing breast cancer is the best
application of thermography.
• The mammary glands were the first organs that
thermography was clinically applied (Lawson, 1957)
• Since cancer tissue metabolizes more actively
than other tissues and thus has a higher temperature,
the heat produced is conveyed to the skin surface
resulting in a higher temperature in the skin directly
over the malignancy than in other regions.
Thermal Imaging
Applications of Thermography
• Breast cancer detection.
• Assessment and monitoring of inflammatory
joint diseases.
• Diagnosing deep vein thrombosis.
• Problem of peripheral circulation.
• Recent developments in clinical thermography in
many fields of medicine from general surgery to
ophthalmology.
Thermal Imaging
Applications of Thermography
• Diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy and vascular

disorder.
• Fever screening
• Dental Diagnosis
• Dermatological applications
• Diagnosis of dry eye syndrome and ocuular
diseases
• Diagnosis of liver diseases
Thermal Imaging
Thermal Imaging
Thermal Imaging
Infrared Detectors
Infrared detectors are used to convert infrared

energy into electrical signals.
Two types of detectors:
1. Thermal detectors
2. Photo-detectors.
Thermal detectors include thermocouples and

thermistor bolometers. They feature constant
sensitivity over a long wavelength region.
Infrared Detectors
• The wavelength at which the human body has

maximum response is 9–10 mm.
• Therefore, the detector should ideally have a constant
spectral sensitivity in the 3–20 μm infrared range.
• However, the spectral response of the photo-detectors is
highly limited. Most of the infrared cameras use InSb
(indium antimonide) detector which detects infrared rays in
the range 2–6μm.
• But they are highly sensitive and are capable of
detecting small temperature variations as compared to a
thermistor.
Infrared Detectors
Photo detector make use of an alloy of

cadmium, mercury and telluride (CMT) and
cooled with liquid nitrogen, has a peak
response at 10–12mm.
Thermographic Equipment
• Thermographic cameras incorporate scanning

systems which enable the infrared radiation emitted
from the surface of the skin within the field of view
to be focused on to an infrared detector.
• Have a wide range of absolute temperature

sensitivity ranging from 1 to 50°C.
• A full scale (black to white) temperature difference

of between 5 to l0°C is usually adequate.
For
• breast examinations, the absolute temperature
range may be 25 to 35°C
• legs 23 to 33°C
• forehead 31 to 36°C
• With the gray-scale spanning a temperature range

of 5°C, it is possible to resolve temperature
variations of 0.5°C on the skin.
• Most of the clinical changes in temperature are of
the order of 1°C or more.
The equipment used in thermography basically

consists of two units
• a special infrared camera that scans the

object and is generally mounted on a tripod
that is fitted on wheels.
• a display unit for displaying the thermal
picture on the screen.
• The double-scanning movement of the plane mirror causes

each spot on the patient’s body to be focused in turn on the
cooled detector of Indium Antimonide.
• The detector is mounted in a Dewar flask which is cooled
with nitrogen in order to obtain optimum sensitivity and
eliminate thermal noise.
• An optical collector system is employed in an infrared
detecting system. This is due to a weak infrared input from
the subject.
• Scanning is carried out by a reflecting mirror. The
instantaneous field of view which can be scanned is decided
by the optics and detector size.
• The horizontal and vertical movements of the scanning

mirror are controlled by individual motors.
• The scanning mechanism employs an arrangement for
rapidly oscillating the flat mirror to give a horizontal line
scan, and slowly tilting it for the frame scan.
• Simultaneously, horizontal synchronous pulses and vertical
sweep signals for the display unit are also generated.
• A chopper disc interrupts the infrared beam so that an AC
signal is produced from the detector.
•The adjustment of the height and the tilt of the optical head
can be controlled to have a different field of view.
• The AC signal developed at the detector is amplified by the

pre-amplifier.
• It is then rectified and fed into the bandpass filter whose
central frequency is determined by the chopping frequency.
•A 13 cm CRT is used for display of scanned image.
Horizontal sweep, which is synchronized with the scanning
motion of the scanning mirror, is displayed from top to
bottom and then in the reverse order on the screen.
• The signals are displayed on the screen by intensity
modulation which controls brightness and contrast with the
strength of the signal.
The thermal and spatial resolution of a

thermographic system is determined by
• optical parameters
• detector performance
• preamplifier’s noise
• signal processing system
• picture presentation and evaluation
systems.
Pyroelectric Vidicon Camera
•The pyroelectric vidicon is a thermal imaging

tube.
• This tube resembles the standard vidicon, the
main difference being that the material used
for the target is sensitive to infrared instead of
visible light.
• It is a compact, sensitive and reliable device
and can thus find convenient application in
medical thermography.
The pyroelectric vidicon basically consists of
(i) a glass envelope; fitted with a germanium
faceplate, matching the 8 to 14 mm atmospheric
window
(ii) a pyroelectric target mounted on a metal backing
plate that also acts as the video output electrode
(iii) an electron gun and beam shaping electrodes like
those of a standard vidicon
(iv) a gas reservoir heated by a tungsten filament.
The tube is surrounded by focusing and deflection
coils that are identical to those used with a standard
vidicon.
Most of the circuit blocks are similar to the vidicon
camera used in closed circuit TV systems.
There are two special circuits
pre-amplifier and video amplifier.
• The output signal current from the pyricon tube is
low (0 to 50 nA). So, a high current gain, low noise
pre-amplifier must be used. A typical pre-amplifier
would have a bandwidth of 2.5 MHZ and a load
resistance of 3.3 MW.
• The video amplifier should have an adequate gain
to match the low value of the useful signal. It is
generally arranged to give a gain of 10 to 60
• A base clipping circuit is used for block level

adjustment, by setting the pedestal level at the
proper black level of the picture.
• A pyricon camera provides 0.5°C resolution
at ambient temperature.
• The common errors in such systems are
pedestal variations noise and thermal blurring.

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Medical Imaging Systems

1. Kirk Shung, Michael B Smith and

2. R S Khandpur, “Handbook of Biomedical

• Radioactivity (emission of ionizing radiation or particles)

• Radionuclides can be labeled with various pharmaceuticals

• Nuclei with an unfavorable neutron/proton ratio will

where n, p+ , e- and ve represent neutron, proton,

• A proton-rich nucleus may undergo the conversion

where ve is an electron neutrino and e+ is the

• An element with a given atomic number has a fixed

• All isotopes used in nuclear medicine are artificially

• The gamma radiation from radionuclides is

• Electron capture decay

• A proton-rich nucleus may transform to the stable

A metastable radionuclide decays by emitting γ

• When a positron collides with an electron, both

• The use of radionuclides with positron decay and the

An alpha particle is a helium nucleus consisting of two

The average energy of an emitted alpha particle ranges from

• The range of an alpha particle in air before being

• Due to its dual positive charge and a large mass, the

• The ionization ability of an alpha particle can be

• When beta particles interact with a medium, both

• The range of a beta particle is difficult to determine

• However, it is found to be proportional to its energy but

• Gamma rays are identical to X-rays except for their origin.

• X-rays are extranuclear in origin whereas gamma rays are

• The interaction of low-energy gamma rays and matter is identical to

• In pair production, out of the total photon energy, 1.02 MeV is

• Photon energy in excess of 1.02 MeV is converted to the kinetic

• In photo disintegration, the gamma ray photon is absorbed by the

• Most naturally occurring radioactive isotopes are not useful in nuclear

• Artificially produced radioisotopes are exclusively used in

• Artificially produced radioisotopes are created by bombarding stable

• The stable isotopes undergo nuclear transformation and convert into

• Radioisotopes can be produced by nuclear reactors or by charged-

• Alternatively, accelerators are used to accelerate charged particles

• A radionuclide generator is an apparatus that contains a parent-

• Inside the generator, the parent 99 Mo is absorbed on an alumina

• The parent radioisotope 99 Mo has a half-life of 2.5 days and decays

where e- and ve are electron and anti-electron neutrino, respectively.

• The daughter radioisotope is the metastable 99mTc which has a half-

• After elution, the 99mTc activity is replenished in a few hours from

• Problems associated with technetium generators are related to "break

• These "break through" problems should be avoided to minimize

Three types of detectors are used to detect emissions from radioactive

Ion Collection Detector

• It consists of two electrodes (the negative and positive electrodes

• An external voltage source is applied to the electrodes.

• The volume of air or gas acts as an insulator until it is ionized by

• A plot of the current Id as a function of the applied voltage is

• As the applied voltage is increased, more and more electrons

• Further increase of the applied voltage causes the electrons and

• Therefore, a steeper increase in current is observed.

• Detectors operating in this region (region 2), where the current is

• An increase in applied voltage results in only a very small

• Geiger-Muller (GM) counters operate in this region (region 3).

• They are best suited for detecting a small amount of radioactivity

• Further increase in the applied voltage beyond region 3 results in

The Nal(Tl) is most popular in radionuclide imaging due to