Medical Tracers Flashcards
How does a medical tracer work?
A patient is injected with a radioactive sample and given a 10-20 minute wait for the tracer to disperse evenly. Then a gamma camera is used to detect areas of gamma emission
How is the volume of patients blood calculated
a small amount (10cm3) of blood is obtained to calculate the total volume of the patients blood via a ratio
How does a gamma camera work?
The patient emits rays in all different directions so a collimator is used to collect the rays directed upwards
The rays are absorbed and converted into visible light photons by the scintillator. The photomultiplier turn these into electrical impulses which the counter counts and passes to the computer to build up a 2D image
Why do these images tend to be low resolution?
Most of the rays are misdirected or absorbed
