Chapter-02

Short Description of radionuclide

 A radionuclide is a nuclide that has excess nuclear energy, making it unstable.
 A radionuclide is a radioactive form of an element, which means it is an unstable
atom.
 A radionuclide is an atom with an unstable nucleus.
 In radionuclide scanning, radionuclides are used to produce images.
What Causes radioactivity?
Radioactivity is caused by instability in the nucleus due to either:
 Imbalance in the number of neutrons and protons (Natural Radionuclides)
 Excitation due to bombardment of particles (artificial radionuclides)
Half-Life: Half-life is the taken for number of radioactive atoms to decay by half. There are
three types of Half-Life: (1) Physical (2) Biological (3) Effective

Production of Radionuclides:
Three method are mention below:
(1) Cyclotrons/particle Accelerators (2) Nuclear Reactors (3) Generators
1) Cyclotrons-produced Radionuclides
Cyclotron:
 A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest O. Lawrence.
 It is used to accelerate heavy charged particles such as protons, deuterons, and
heavier ions.
Radionuclides can be produced in cyclotrons by accelerating heavy charged particles to
bombard stable nuclei. Examples are:

Fig: Block Diagram of Cyclotron

(2) Nuclear Reactor-produced radionuclides:

Nuclear reactor: A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear
chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Depending on the Energy:
1. Thermal-neutron Reactors
2. Fast-neutron reactors
By moderator material:
1.Graphite-moderated reactors 2. Waters moderated reactors 3. Light element moderated
reactor
Two Methods: (1) Nuclear Fission (2) Neutron Activation
(1) Nuclear Fission: Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into
two or more smaller nuclei. The fission process often produces gamma photons. A typical
fission interaction takes place on the order of one picosecond (10−12 second).

(2) Neutrons Activation: The basic premise of neutron activation is based on the principle
that neutrons have no net electrical charge. It occurs when atomic nuclei capture free
neutrons.

Fig: Block Diagram of reactor

Radionuclide generators
 Radionuclide generators are a source of radionuclides for the production of
radiopharmaceuticals.
 They are commonly used in nuclear medicine to supply a radiopharmacy.
 Radionuclide generators are devices that produce a useful short-lived medical
radionuclide from the radioactive transformation of a non-medical long-lived
radionuclide.
Why do we need a radionuclide generator?
Short-lived radionuclides are often the agents of choice in nuclear medicine because they
permit the use of ample radioactivity while keeping the absorbed dose to the patient within
acceptable limits. In general, however, the use of short-lived radionuclides entails many
problems that stem from their fast decay. For example, the time available for processing,
transportation, storage and dispensing is very limited and is often insufficient to assure quality
in labeling and in radionuclidic purity. A generator solves some of the problems associated
with the transportation of short-lived radionuclides.
Application of Radionuclides:
1. Biochemical analysis 2. Urinalysis 3. Tracer studies 4. Carbon dating 5.Potassium dating
6. Clinical Diagnosis 7. Radionuclide Theraphy 8. Radiopharmaceutical.
Iodine-131 (131I):
 Iodine-131 (131I) is an important radioisotope of iodine.
 It has a radioactive decay half-life of about eight days.
 Iodine-131 is also one of the most commonly used gamma-emitting radioactive
industrial tracer.
 Most 131I production is from neutron irradiation of a natural tellurium target in a nuclear
reactor.
 I-131 is used in medicine to diagnose and treat cancers of the thyroid gland.
 iodine-131, emits radiation in the form of medium energy gamma rays and beta
particles
Side effects:
Changes in menstrual periods; Clumsiness; Coldness; Drowsiness; Headache; Muscle aches.
Technetium-99m:
 Technetium-99m (99mTc) is a metastable nuclear isomer of technetium-99
 That is used in tens of millions of medical diagnostic procedures annually, making it
the most commonly used medical radioisotope in the world.
 Technetium-99m is used as a radioactive tracer and can be detected in the body by
medical equipment (gamma cameras).

Chromium-51
 Chromium-51 is a synthetic radioactive isotope of chromium having a half-life of 27.7
days.
 It is observationally stable.
 It has a role as a radioactive label.
Uses of Chromium-51
 It is used to label red blood cells for measurement of mass or volume.
 To determine the red blood cell volume.
 study the red blood cell survival time and evaluate blood loss.
 Diagnosing blood sugar level.
 Determines blood flow in pregnancies.
 Determines protein loss.
 Measuring the Amount of Radioactivity
 We measure the amount of radioactivity by finding out how many radioactive atoms
decay every second. These atoms may be giving off alpha particles, beta particles,
and/or gamma rays.
 The amount of radioactivity is reported in Becquerel.
 Geiger counters are commonly used to measure the amount of radioactivity, but
there are other types of detectors that may be used.

Measuring Ambient Radiation Levels

 Ambient radiation levels measure how much radiation is in the environment around
us.
 Ambient radiation levels are reported in Gray per hour, which are the international
units.
Measuring Radiation Dose
 Radiation dose is the amount of radiation absorbed by the body.
 Radiation doses are reported in Gray (Gy) or Sievert (Sv).
 Alarming dosimeters can be used by first responders and safety officers to monitor
dose in real time. There are also specialized instruments used by hospitals and
laboratories that can measure dose.

Problem in Radiation Measurement

Nuclear medicine studies are performed with a variety of types of radiation measurement
instruments, depending on the kind of radiation source that is being measured and the
type of information sought.
Some of the problems in Radiation Measurement are given below:
1. Components of Detection Efficiency
2. Geometric Efficiency
3. Intrinsic Efficiency
4. Energy-Selective Counting
5. Some Complicating Factors