Radioactive decay is a spontaneous process; that is, there is no way to predict with certainty the exact moment at which an unstable nucleus will undergo its radioactive transformation into another, more stable nucleus. Mathematically, radioactive decay is described in…
Radioactive decay is a process in which an unstable nucleus transforms into a more stable one by emitting particles, photons, or both, releasing energy in the process. Atomic electrons may become involved in some types of radioactive decay, but it…
Radioactivity is a process involving events in individual atoms and nuclei. Before discussing radioactivity, therefore, it is worthwhile to review some of the basic concepts of atomic and nuclear physics. a Quantities and Units 1 Types of Quantities and Units…
a Fundamental Concepts The science and clinical practice of nuclear medicine involve the administration of trace amounts of compounds labeled with radioactivity (radionuclides) that are used to provide diagnostic information in a wide range of disease states. Although radionuclides also…
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This chapter reinforces concepts presented in this textbook. Students of medicine gather pearls of wisdom from their mentors that may not fit well into a didactic treatment of a subject but are valuable in day-to-day practice. We all learn to…
A number of noninvasive cardiac diagnostic imaging studies are available to the cardiologist, which include echocardiography, computed tomography (CT), CT angiography, and magnetic resonance imaging. The continuing value of cardiac nuclear scintigraphic studies is that they are noninvasive, contrast media…
Infection imaging has long been an important indication for scintigraphy. Gallium-67 citrate (Ga-67) was the first infection-seeking radiopharmaceutical used clinically. It is still in use today, however, in a much more limited role than in the past. For decades now,…
Molecular imaging examinations using positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are frequently used in the brain because they can complement the anatomical information from magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and computed tomography (CT). By examining cellular function,…