Principles of nuclear medicine and equipment Flashcards
what are the 5 main steps in the nuclear medicine timeline
1) preparation of radioactive material
2) injection of radioactive material
3) Gamma camera installation
- installation of camera
- QA of camera
4) Scanning the patient
5) maintain radiation safety
who is the source of radiation
the patient
what does the injection contain
Gamma ray emitter
what collects the emission
the gamma camera
what does the gamma camera do
create an image
what happens after the image is interpreted
the report is then processed
name 4 ways that NM equipment is different from other modalities
1) functional imaging
2) long scan time (15mins-2 hours)
3) multiple attendance on same day/over 2 days
4) staff in-restricted into scan room so more contact with patient
Name 3 radioactive elements
1) Mostly Tc99m based
2) also iodine based
3) other
name 5 properties of Tc99m
1) ideal for imaging
2) 140keV
3) half life 6 hours
4) biological half life is low
5) safe to work with
name 2 properties of iodine based elements
1) various half lives and energies
2) for imaging and therapy
how far in advance do you have to pre-book doses
12-24 hours in advance
what 3 things must be performed when doing NM injections
1) in accordance to local rules and guidance
2) by appropriately trained staff
3) in a way to reduce radiation dose to staff and other
what does Tc99m standard for
Technetium 99 isotope
how can venous injections be done
via cannula or butterfly needle
what is the purpose of syringe guards
protects from unnecessary radiation
what must you do before administrating an injection
double check the dose
why must you give appropriate instructions to the patient before they leave
as they still remain radioactive even when they leave the department
what are the 5 components of the gamma camera
1) collimator
2) crystal
3) PM tubes
4) Amplifiers
5) decoding/display
If the gamma camera is not working
the injection is NOT JUSTIFIED
How is radiation safety kept in NM- 4 things
1) IRMER 2000
2) IRR(99)
3) environment agency licencing
4) QA testing
what are the three things that require environment agency licencing
1) open sources- injections etc
2) closed sourced- testing equipment
3) waste- clinical and patient waste
name 2 daily QA checks
1) uniform camera head checks
2) PM tube checks
name 2 monthly QA checks
1) centre of rotation
2) longer acquisition uniformity checks
name 3 environmental QA checks
1) daily checking for radiation spills in all areas
2) hazard lights
3) cleanliness
Name 5 ways in NM that dose reduction is performed
1) careful vetting of requests
2) individual doses for each patients
- weight dependent for children
- reduced in pregnancy
3) staff training to ensure ALARP adhered to
4) Injection techniques
5) ward information for in-patients
