Summary:
This widely used text is now fully updated to reflect the broad acceptance and availability of PET, including instrumentation and special radiation safety aspects. Also added are new information on radiopharmaceuticals, newer scintillation materials (BGO), fusion imaging (PET/CT and SPECT/CT), descriptions of SPECT filters, discussions on contrast detail curves, and radiation effects on cell culture. An easy-to-read format and eye-friendly internal design facilitate learning and guide readers through essential details, examples, and true-to-life problems. A testing component at the end of each chapter offers key points for review with questions and answers

Contents

Chapter 1
BASIC REVIEW
Matter, Elements, and Atoms
Simplified Structure of an Atom
Molecules
Binding Energy, Ionization, and Excitation
Forces or Fields
Electromagnetic Forces
Characteristic X-Rays and Auger Electrons
Interchangeability of Mass and Energy
Chapter 2
NUCLIDES AND RADIOACTIVE PROCESSES
Nuclides and Their Classification
Nuclear Structure and Excited States of a Nuclide
Radionuclides and Stability of Nuclides
Radioactive Series or Chain
Radioactive Processes and Conservation Laws
Alpha Decay
Beta Decay
Gamma Decay or Isomeric Transition
Decay Schemes
Chapter 3
RADIOACTIVITY: LAW OF DECAY, HALF-LIFE, AND STATISTICS
Radioactivity: Definition, Units, and Dosage
Law of Decay
Calculation of the Mass of a Radioactive Sample
Specific Activity
The Exponential Law of Decay
Half-Life
Problems on Radioactive Decay
Average Life (Tav)
Biological Half-Life
Effective Half-Life
Statistics of Radioactive Decay
Poisson Distribution, Standard Deviation, and Percent Standard Deviation
Propagation of Statistical Errors
Room Background
Chapter 4
PRODUCTION OF RADIONUCLIDES
Methods of Radionuclide Production
Reactor-Produced Radionuclides
Accelerator- or Cyclotron-Produced Radionuclides
Fission-Produced Radionuclides
General Considerations in the Production of Radionuclides
Production of Short-Lived Radionuclides, Using a Generator
Principles of a Generator
Description of a Typical Generator
Chapter 5
RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS
Design Considerations for a Radiopharmaceutical
Selection of a Radionuclide
Selection of a Chemical
Development of a Radiopharmaceutical
Chemical Studies
Animal Distribution and Toxicity Studies
Human or Clinical Studies
Quality Control of a Radiopharmaceutical
Radionuclide Purity
Radiochemical Purity
Chemical Purity
Sterility
Apyrogenicity
Labeling of Radiopharmaceuticals With Technetium-99m
Technetium-99m-Labeled Radiopharmaceuticals
Technetium-99m Pertechnetate (99mTcO )
Technetium-99m-Labeled Sulfur Colloid
Technetium-99m-Labeled Macroaggregated Albumin (99mTc MAA)
Technetium-99m-Labeled Polyphosphate, Pyrophosphate, and Diphosphonate
Technetium-99m-Labeled Human Serum Albumin
Technetium-99m-Labeled Red Cells
Technetium-99m-Labeled 2,3-Dimercaptosuccinic Acid (DMSA)
Technetium-99m-Labeled Dimethylenetriamine Pentaacetic Acid (DTPA)
Technetium-99m-Labeled Glucoheptonate
Technetium-99m-Labeled Mertiatide (MAG3)
Technetium-99m-Labeled 2,6-Dimethyl Acetanilide Iminodiacetic Acid (HIDA) and Related Compounds (Diethyl-IDA, PIPIDA, and DISIDA)
Technetium-99m-Labeled Sestamibi (Cardiolite)
Technetium-99m-Labeled Teboroxime (Cardiotec)
Technetium-99m-Labeled Tetrofosmin (Myoview)
Technetium-99m-Labeled Brain Imaging Agents (Exametazime Ceretec , Hexamethylpropyleneamine Oxime HMPAO , and Ethyl Cysteinate Dimer ECD )
Radioiodine-Labeled Radiopharmaceuticals (131I and 123I)
Iodine-131- or Iodine-123-Labeled Sodium Iodide
Other Iodine-123-Labeled Radiopharmaceuticals
Compounds Labeled With Other Radiopharmaceuticals
Gallium-67 Citrate
Thallous-201 Chloride
Chromium-51-Labeled Red Cells
Indium-111-Labeled DTPA
Indium-111-Labeled Platelets and Leukocytes
Indium-111-Labeled DTPA Pentetreotide (OctreoScan)
Radiolabeled Monoclonal Antibodies and Synthetic Peptides
Radioactive Gases and Aerosols
Radiopharmaceuticals for PET Imaging
18FDG (2-deoxy-fluoro-D-glucose)
Therapeutic Uses of Radiopharmaceuticals
Design of a Radiopharmaceutical for Therapeutic Uses
Problems and Uses
Misadministration of Radiopharmaceuticals
Chapter 6
INTERACTION OF HIGH-ENERGY RADIATION WITH MATTER
Interaction of Charged Particles (10 keV to 10 MeV)
Principal Mechanism of Interaction
Differences Between Lighter and Heavier Charged Particles
Range, R, of a Charged Particle
Factors That Affect Range, R
Bremsstrahlung Production
Stopping Power, S
Linear Energy Transfer
Difference Between LET and Stopping Power, S
Annihilation of Positrons
Interaction of X- or ?-Rays (10 keV to 10 MeV)
Attentuation and Transmission of X- or ?-Rays
Mass Attenuation Coefficient, (mass)
Atomic Attenuation Coefficient, (atom)
Mechanisms of Interaction
Dependence of (mass) and (linear) on Z
Relative Importance of the Three Processes
Interaction of Neutrons
Chapter 7
RADIATION DOSIMETRY
General Comments on Radiation Dose Calculations
Definitions and Units
Radiation Dose, D
Radiation Dose Rate, dD/dt
Parameters or Data Needed
Calculation of the Radiation Dose
Step 1: Rate of Energy Emission
Step 2: Rate of Energy Absorption
Step 3: Dose Rate, dD/dt
Step 4: Average Dose, D
Simplification of Radiation Dose Calculations Using S Factors
Some Illustrative Examples
Radiation Doses in Routine Imaging Procedures
Radiation Dose to a Fetus
Chapter 8
DETECTION OF HIGH-ENERGY RADIATION
What Do We Want to Know About Radiation?
Simple Detection
Quantity of Radiation
Energy of the Radiation
Nature of Radiation
What Makes One Radiation Detector Better than Another?
Intrinsic Efficiency or Sensitivity
Dead Time or Resolving Time
Energy Discrimination Capability or Energy Resolution
Other Considerations
Types of Detectors
Gas-Filled Detectors
Scintillation Detectors (Counters)
Semiconductor Detectors
Chapter 9
IN VITRO RADIATION DETECTION
Overall Efficiency (E)
Intrinsic Efficiency
Geometric Efficiency
Well-Type Nal(TI) Scintillation Detectors (Well Counters)
Liquid Scintillation Detectors
Basic Components
Preparation of the Sample Detector Vial
Problems Arising in Sample Preparation
Chapter 10
IN VIVO RADIATION DETECTION: BASIC PROBLEMS, PROBES, AND RECTILINEAR SCANNERS
Basic Problems
Collimation
Scattering
Attentuation
Organ Uptake Probes
Nal(TI) Detector
Collimator
Organ Imaging Devices
Rectilinear Scanner
Chapter 11
IN VIVO RADIATION DETECTION: SCINTILLATION CAMERA
Scintillation Camera
Collimators
Detector, Nal(TI) Crystal
Position Determining Circuit (x, y Coordinates)
Display
Imaging With a Scintillation Camera
Interfacing With a Computer or All-Digital Camera
Digitization in General
Digitization in the Scintillation Camera
Some Applications of Computers
Automatic Acquisition of Images
Display of Images
Analysis of the Images
Chapter 12
OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND QUALITY CONTROL OF A SCINTILLATION CAMERA
Quantitative Parameters for Measuring Spatial Resolution
Point-Spread Function and FWHM
Modulation Transfer Function
Resolution of an Imaging Chain
Quantitative Parameters for Measuring Sensitivity
Point Sensitivity (Sp)
Line Sensitivity (SL)
Plane Sensitivity (SA)
Factors Affecting Spatial Resolution and Sensitivity of an Imager
Scintillation Camera
Loss of Spatial Resolution Resulting From Septal Penetration
Variation in Spatial Resolution With Depth
Uniformity and High Count Rate Performance of a Scintillation Camera
Uniformity
High Count Rate Performance
Quality Control of Imaging Devices
Scintillation Camera
Chapter 13
DETECTABILITY OR FINAL CONTRAST OF AN IMAGE
Object Contrast
Spatial Resolution and Sensitivity of an Imaging Device
Statistical Noise or Information Density
Projection of Volume Distribution Into Areal Distribution
Compton Scattering of ?-Rays
Attenuation
Motion of the Object
Display Parameters
Observer Variations
Chapter 14
EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
Principles of Transverse Tomography
Considerations in Data Acquisition
Reconstruction of the Cross Section
Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography
Data Acquisition With a Scintillation Camera
Collimators
Attenuation Correction
Scatter Correction
Resolution Correction
Other Requirements or Sources of Error
Positron Emission Tomography
Why PET?
Principles of PET
PET Instrumentation
High-Energy SPECT and PET With a Scintillation Camera
Longitudinal Tomography
Chapter 15
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF RADIATION AND RISK EVALUATION FROM RADIATION EXPOSURE
Mechanism of Biological Damage
Factors Affecting Biological Damage
Radiation Dose
Dose Rate
LET or Type of Radiation
Type of Tissue
Amount of Tissue
Rate of Cell Turnover
Biological Variation
Chemical Modifiers
Biological Effect, Equivalent Dose, and Dose Equivalent
Equivalent Dose
Dose Equivalent
Deleterious Effects in Humans
Acute Effects
Late Effects
Radiation Effects in the Fetus
Different Radiation Exposures and the Concept of Effective Dose or Effective Dose Equivalent
Sources of Radiation Exposure
Methodology for Comparison of Different Exposures
Effective Doses in Nuclear Medicine and Comparison With Other Sources of Exposure
Chapter 16
METHODS OF SAFE HANDLING OF RADIONUCLIDES AND PERTAINING RULES AND REGULATIONS
Principles of Reducing Exposure From External Sources
Time
Distance
Shielding
Avoiding Internal Contamination
The Radioactive Patient
Rules and Regulations
U.S. Regulatory Agencies
Exposure or Dose Limits: Annual Limit on Intake and Derived Air Concentration
ALARA Principle
Types of Licenses
Radiation Safety Committee and Radiation Safety Officer
Personnel Monitoring
Receipt, Use, and Disposal of Radionuclides
Control and Labeling of Areas Where Radionuclides Are Stored and/or Used
Contamination Survey and Radiation-Level Monitoring
Receiving and Shipping (Transport) of Radioactive Packages
Accidental Radioactive Spills
Appendix A: Physical Characteristics of Some Radionuclides of Interest in Nuclear Medicine
Appendix B: CGS and SI Units
Appendix C: Exponential Table
Appendix D: Radionuclides of Interest in Nuclear Medicine
Appendix E: Organ Masses of a Standard Man
Answers
Suggestions for Further Reading