Nuclear Medicine Flashcards
what property of the body does it measure
it does not measure the body, it measures the tracer
why do we use different tracers
go to different tissues– oxygen uptake, sugar consumption, things like that
how is a signal produced with this method
radioactive decay gamma rays given off and get it through scintillator/semiconductor detectors
what are the key formulas
N = No e^-λt
T half = ln2/λ
what are the key components of the system
tracer, detector, collimator (spect only),
what parameters can we control
tracer decay, distance from source, sampling, rotation speed (spect), collimation (distance, septum thickness, hole diameter, depth)
what are the parameters of image quality
spatial resolution, contrast, noise, attenuation,
how does noise affect image quality
noise affect by photon number (attenuation, dose, time)
how does collimation affect image quality
collimation avoids scatter (resolution/sensitivity)
what are the key-trade-offs in nuclear medicine
dose vs. signal strength and resolution vs. sensitivity
what are the safety concerns
dose
what is SPECT
it is a rotating gamma camera (scintillator, semiconductor, PMT)
what is a PET
it does not have a moving detector
what are the strengths and weaknesses
localized to tissue of interest
