Physics: Rapid Review, Nuclear and MRI Flashcards
Isotope
Same number of protons
Isotone
Same number of neutrons
Isobar
Same mass number
Isomer
Same number of protons and neutrons, but different energies (e.g. Tc99 and Tc99M)
Effective half life
Effective half life = (1/physical half life) + (1/biological half life)
Physical half life of Tc99m
6 hours
Note: Turn the 9 upside down to get 6.
Tc99m energy
Low (140)
Physical half life of I-123
13 hours
Note: 123 is 13.
Physical half life of Xe-133
125 hours
Note: Biological half life is 30 sec (breathed out).
Physical half life of Thallium-201
73 hours
Physical half life of Indium-111
67 hours
Note: Indium wishes it was Ga-67.
Physical half life of Gallium-67
78 hours
Note: +1 to each digit.
Physical half life of I-131
8 days
Note: If you spill I-131 you’re fucked (for a week and a day).
Physical half life of F-18
110 min
Note: Formula 1 is fast (110 mph).
Physical half life of cobalt-57
270.9 days
Note: Almost a year (3/4 of a year). This is used for quality assurance (extrinsic field uniformity).
Physical half life of germanium-68
270 days
Note: This is used for PET quality assurance.
Physical half life of Gallium-68
68 minutes
Note: This is used for PET quality assurance.
Half life of strontium-89
50.5 days (14 days in bone)
Note: 2 weeks in bone, but ~2 months elsewhere.
Half life of samarium-153
46 hours
Half life of radium-223
11 days
Half life of Yttrium-90
64 hours
Note: Turn 9 upside down to get 6 (then times 10 because it’s therapeutic, so you should expect it to last longer than 6 hours).
Half life of rubidium-82
75 seconds
Half life of nitrogen-13
10 min
Energy of I-123
Low (159)
Energy of Xe-133
Low (81)
Energy of Thallium-201
Low (167 and 135)
Note: It is actually the Hg-201 daughter xrays that are images.
Energy of Indium-111
Medium (173 and 247)
Energy of Gallium-67
- 93 (40%)
- 184 (20%)
- 300 (20%)
- 393 (5%)
Note: 90, 180, 300, 400.
Energy of I-131
High (365)
Note: Days in a year.
Energy of F-18
High (511)
Energy of Cobalt-57
Low (122 and 136)
Energy of Germanium-68
High (511)
Note: This is actually the energy of its daughter product Gallium-68.
Beta minus decay causes…
Emission of a beta particle (electron)
Note: This is an isobaric transition.
Beta plus decay causes…
Emission of a positron
Electron capture causes…
An electron and proton to merge and become a neutron
Note: A gamma photon can also be produced if coupled with an isomeric transition.
Alpha decay causes…
Emission of an alpha particle (helium nucleus, 2 protons and 2 neutrons)
What type of atoms undergo beta minus decay?
Lots of neutrons and not enough protons
What type of atoms undergo beta plus decay?
Lots of protons and not enough neutrons
What type of atoms undergo electron capture?
Lots of protons and not enough neutrons
What type of atoms undergo alpha decay?
Heavy unstable atoms
Which type of collimator produces a fixed image size that is independent of image distance?
Parallel hole
Best collimator type for thryoid scintigraphy
Pinhole
How does a pinhole collimator affect the image?
Magnifies and inverts the image (the closer to the collimator, the more magnification)
Note: The farther from the detector, the less magnification (no magnification if equal distance between pt-collimator and collimator-detector).
What collimator should you use if you want to magnify without inverting the image?
Converging
As the pt gets farther from a converging collimator, magnification _______
Increases (and field of view decreases)
What collimator should you use if you want to take a large object and make a smaller image (e.g. lung scan with a mobile gamma camera)?
Diverging collimator
Using longer septa in a collimator…
- Lowers sensitivity (increases noise)
- Increases spatial resolution
Using thinner septa in a collimator…
- Increases blur (increased penetration)
- Increases sensitivity (more photons reach detector)
Wider collimator holes result in…
- Higher sensitivity (more photons reach detector)
- Lower spatial resolution
Frequency for nuclear quality assurance on constancy
Daily (using a reference source)
Note: Should be within 5% of computed activity.
Frequency for nuclear quality assurance on linearity
Quarterly (using a large activity of Tc-99m, about 200 mCi, and decaying it to less than the smallest activity you would measure for use)
Frequency for nuclear quality assurance on accuracy
Annually (using standard energy sources)
What are the standard energy sources used to check for nuclear imaging accuracy?
- Co-57 (low energy)
- Cs-137 (medium)
- Co-60 (high energy)
Frequency for nuclear quality assurance on geometry
Once during installation and again any time you move the device (using different volumes of liquid Tc-99m)
Best detector to survey for low level radioactivity?
Geiger-Muller counter (very sensitive, but horrible for high radiation fields)
What types of radiation can be detected with a Geiger-Muller counter?
Ionizing radiation (alpha, beta, and gamma)
What type of detector should be used to survey high level radiation?
Ionization chamber (stable across a wide voltage range)
How should you wear a personal thermo-luminescent dosimeter?
Wear the ring on a finger with the label facing the palm (should be worn under gloves if using gloves)
What are the major types of survey meters?
- Geiger-Muller counter
- Ionizing chamber
What type of radioactivity detector should be used for “wipe test” or urine/blood samples?
Well counter
Where would you look up notices, instructions, and reports to workers for nuclear medicine?
10 code of federal regulations, part 19
Where would you look up standards for protection against radiation?
10 code of federal regulations, part 20
Where would you look up information about the medicinal use of by-product material?
10 code of federal regulations, part 35
What is considered a major spill for Tc-99m?
> 100 mCi
What is considered a major spill for Thallium-201
> 100 mCi
What is considered a major spill for Indium-111
> 10 mCi
What is considered a major spill for I-123?
> 10 mCi
What is considered a major spill for Ga-67?
> 10 mCi
What is considered a major spill for I-131?
> 1 mCi
What is the protocol for a major spill?
- Clear area
- Cover spill with absorbent paper (do NOT clean it up)
- Clearly indicate boundaries of spill area (limit movement of contaminated persons)
- Shield source if possible
- Notify radiation safety officer immediately
- Decontaminate persons
What is the annual radioactive dose limit to a member of the general public?
100 mrem
What is the radioactive dose limit for an unrestricted area?
2 mrem/hour
What is the definition of a restricted area in nuclear medicine?
Any area that receives a dose greater than 2 mrem/hour
Where should you place “radiation area” signage?
Anywhere that you could get 5 mrem (o.oo5 rem or 0.05 mSv) in 1 hour at 30 cm
Where should you place “high radiation area” signage?
Anywhere you could get 100 mrem/0.1 rem (1 mSv) in 1 hour at 30 cm
Where should you place “very high radiation area” signage?
Anywhere you could get 500 rads (5 gray) in 1 hour at 1 meter
What is the NRC occupational exposure dose limit for total body dose per year?
5000 mrem/5 rem (50 mSv)
What is the NRC occupational exposure dose limit for dose to the ocular lens per year?
15 rem (150 mSv)
What is the NRC occupational exposure dose limit for total equivalent organ dose?
50 rem (500 mSv)
What is the NRC occupational exposure dose limit for total dose to embryo-fetus over entire 9 months of pregnancy?
500 mrem/0.5 rem (5 mSv)
Note: If the fetus has already gotten 5 mSv at the time of pregnancy declaration you can get 0.5 mSv more for the remainder of the pregnancy.
1 rad = ? rem
1 rad = 1 rem
1 rem = ? Gy
1 rad/rem = 0.01 Gy
1 mSv = ? mrem = ? rem
1 mSv = 100 mrem = 0.1 rem
5 rem = ? mSv
5 rem = 50 mSv = 0.05 Sv
At what dose does a mistake become a reportable event in nuclear medicine?
Pt received at least 5 rem of whole body radioactive dose that they shouldnt have gotten
OR
Pt received at least 50 rem single organ dose that they shouldn’t have gotten
Note: If there was a mistake, but less than these limits it is considered a recordable event (only locally recorded for local institutional review)
When must you call the NRC after a reportable event?
Within 24 hours
When must you send a written letter to the NRC after a reportable event?
Within 15 days
When must you notify the referring physician after a reportable event?
Within 24 hours
Who should notify the pt after a reportable event?
Nuclear medicine radiologist or referring physician
What mistakes may qualify as reportable events (if the dose is high enough)?
- Wrong dose (at least 20% more than it should have been)
- Wrong drug
- Wrong route
- Wrong pt
How soon after receipt of a radioactive package must the initial survey be done?
Within 3 working hours
When is a radioactive package considered beyond allowable limits?
> 6600 dpm/300 cm^2 (need to contact the shipper and the NRC)
Note: This is during the initial survey (using a Geiger-Muller counter at the package surface and 1 meter away as well as a wipe test of all surfaces).
What radioactive package label indicates that no special handling is required?
White 1 label
What is the dose limit for a white 1 label package?
Must be < 0.5 mrem/hour at surface (and 0 mrem/hour at 1 meter)
What is the dose limit for a yellow 1 label package?
Must be < 50 mrem/hour at surface (and < 1 mrem/hour at 1 meter)
What is the dose limit for a yellow 2 label package?
Must be < 200 mrem/hour at surface (and < 10 mrem/hour at 1 meter)
What is the transportation index for a white 1 label package?
no transportation index (rate at 1 meter is so low)
What is the transportation index for a yellow 1 label package?
TI < 1.0 mrem per hour
What is the transportation index for a yellow 2 label package?
TI > 1.0 mrem per hour
What is a common carrier
A truck that carries regular packages and radioactive material
Transportation index should not exceed ______ for common carriers
10 mrem/hour
Surface rate should not exceed ______ for common carriers
200 mrem
The sum of multiple radioactive packages traveling together should not exceed _____
50 mrem
What is the allowable limit of Tc-99m radionuclide purity?
0.15 microcuries of Mo per 1 millicurie of Tc
Note: This is tested in a dose calibrator with lead shields.
What energy photons are you looking for when testing for Tc-99m radionuclide purity?
700 keV (photons from Molybdenum breakthrough)
What is the allowable limit for Tc-99m chemical purity?
< 10 micrograms Al per 1 mL Tc-99m
Note: This is tested with pH paper.
What are the types of Tc-99m purity?
- Radionuclide purity (molybdenum breakthrough, tested with dose callibrator)
- Chemical purity (aluminum breakthrough, tested with pH paper)
- Radiochemical purity (free Tc contamination, tested with thin layer chromatography)
What is the allowable limit for radiochemical purity of Tc-99m?
- 91% (for most)
- 92% (for Tc-99m sulfur colloid)
- 95% (for Tc-99m TcO4)
If a Tc-99m dose containing free Tc is given, what will show up on scans?
- Gastric uptake
- Salivary gland uptake
- Thyroid uptake
When is transient equilibrium obtained for a Tc-Mo generator?
4 daughter half lives (24 hours)
What appears hotter on non-attenuation corrected images?
- Skin
- Lungs
Does PET imaging use a collimator
2D PET uses septa collimator (to reject scatter photons)
3D PET does not use a collimator (fast coincidence detector)
Which is more sensitive: 2D or 3D PET?
3D PET is more sensitive
Note: Lack of septa collimator results in more true, scattered, and random coincidences.
Which has a larger field of view for true coincidences: 2D or 3D PET?
3D PET has a larger field of view
Which requires more radiotracer: 2D or 3D PET?
2D PET requires more radiotracer
In obese pts, SUVs are ______
Overestimated