Medical Physics

*Outline properties of radioactive isotopes and their half-lives that are used to obtain scans of organs.
Radioactive isotopes are commonly used as tracers in medical diagnosis. In this procedure a compound
is synthesised using a radioactive isotope and injected or ingested into the body. Because isotopes are
chemically identical to stable atoms, the compound will follow the normal metabolic pathway for such
compounds in the body. By measuring the radioactive emission that is emitted from the body, the path
of the compound can be followed. Gamma ray emitting isotopes are commonly used as gamma rays
readily pass through the body.

It is possible to study specific organs using radioactive isotopes that accumulate naturally in the organ.
Radioactive iodine (131I) accumulates in the thyroid gland and is often used to diagnose and treat
diseases of the thyroid. Full body bone scans can be produced using the radioactive strontium ( 87Sr).
Strontium displaces calcium in the bones. Such scans are a little like X-Rays, though they are produced
by the emission of gamma radiation rather then the absorption of X-Rays.

Some of the common radioisotopes used in medical diagnosis are described below and there relative
half-lives shown.

Iodine 131- Widely used in treating thyroid cancer and in imaging the thyroid; also in diagnosis of
abnormal liver function, renal (kidney) blood flow and urinary tract obstruction. A strong gamma
emitter, but used for beta therapy.

Properties of iodine 131 – Half lives

Physical – 8.04 days
Biological – Thyroid- 120 days; rest of tissue 12 days

Lutetium-177 (half-life- 6.7 days): Lu-177 is increasingly important as it emits just enough gamma for
imaging while the beta radiation does the therapy on small tumours. Its half-life is long enough to
allow sophisticated preparation for use.

Iodine-125 (half-life- 60 days): Used in cancer brachytherapy (prostate and brain), also diagnostically
to evaluate the filtration rate of kidneys and to diagnose deep vein thrombosis in the leg. It is also
widely used in radioimmuno-assays to show the presence of hormones in tiny quantities.

Technetium-99m: Used in to image the skeleton and heart muscle in particular, but also for brain,
thyroid, lungs (perfusion and ventilation), liver, spleen, kidney (structure and filtration rate), gall
bladder, bone marrow, salivary and lacrimal glands, heart blood pool, infection and numerous
specialised medical studies.

*Describe how radioactive isotopes may be metabolised by the body to bind or accumulate in the target
organ.
Radioisotopes are simply elements with too many neutrons, hence they appear the same to the body.
This allows radioisotopes to be absorbed by the body’s organs/structures. Different radioisotopes
mimic different elements in the body, for example by using strontium (87Sr) it replaces the calcium that
is naturally put there by the body, this allows the machine to pick up the gamma waves that are
produced by the strontium and produce a full skeletal map of the patient. Another example is iodine
131 (131I), iodine naturally deposits itself in the thyroid which allows the radioisotope iodine-131 to be
deposited there by the body which allows doctors to create maps of the thyroid.

*Identify that during decay of specific nuclei positrons are given off.
Positrons (+ß) are emitted from isotopes with a neutron to proton ratio that is too low for stability. The
ratio is decrease in such isotopes by a proton decaying into a neutron in the nucleus and a positive
electron being emitted. All subatomic particles have antiparticles and the positron is the antiparticle of
the electron. These are used in PET scans. A typical positron decay equation would take the form
10 18 o
9F  8O + +1ß
The general equation for positron decay is
A A 0
ZX  Z-1 Y + +1 e + v
Where X and Y are the original and produced nuclei respectively, A is the mass number, Z is the
atomic number and v is a neutrino.

*Discuss the interaction of electrons and positrons resulting in the production of gamma rays.
When a positron interacts with a electron they are both annihilated and gamma rays are produced from
the resulting collision. This is called pair annihilation and can be seen in the following equation.
0 0
+1 e + -1 e  2γ
The resulting gamma rays that are produced have the same energy (511KeV) and are directed exactly
opposite to each other.

*describe how that positron emission tomography (PET) technique is used for diagnosis.
Positron emission tomography relies on the basic principle that when a isotope with a low neutron to
proton ratio gives off positrons, these positrons immediately seek out an electron (positive attracts
negative) and collide with the electron causing the emission of two gamma rays (pair annihilation)
which can be detected by electronic equipment.

For PET to work, a compound containing a radioactive isotope with a low proton to neutron ratio is
introduced into the body (this can be ingested, inhaled and injected) which gives off positrons that
immediately interact with an electron in the body to give off gamma rays (see diagram below).

Every time a pair annihilation occurs and produces gamma rays it is picked up by the PET scanner.
Detectors are placed around the body (see 1st diagram below) and pairs of gamma rays are recorded by
the detectors that are exactly opposite each other, because pair annihilation produces gamma rays that
are exactly opposite each other the direction of the emission and also the position of the source can be
calculated using time delay between the two detectors. In this way a slice image is constructed with
either a grey scale or a ‘false’ colour image used to indicate the concentration of the positron emitting
radio-isotope. Multiple slices of a persons body can be used to build up a 3d map of that person.
PET is similar to a CAT scan as it takes slices of the patient being analysed, but instead of taking a
slice from one angle and having to move the machine to another, the one slice can be analysed at the
one time because the detector completely surrounds that patient. Scans are presented in grey scale or
false colour, the brighter the dot the more positrons being emitted from area. The same is for false
colour where the blue represents low emissions and the yellow-white areas of high activity.

Macquarie revision guide – HSC Physics- © Mark Butler 2003, Pages 138-142

http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/rp/Air/fact%20sheets-pdf/Fact%20Sheet%2033.pdf
http://www.epub.org.br/cm/n01/pet/petworks.htm
Excel HSC Physics – Neville Warren © 2000