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Question 1

What is nuclear medicine?

Answer 1

Medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Question 2

What governs the uptake of a radioactive tracer?

Answer 2

Physiology.

Question 3

What does the contrast in nuclear medicine images depend on?

Answer 3

Relative uptake of tracer between the organ of interest and the background.

Question 4

What type of information does nuclear medicine provide?

Answer 4

Information about the function of an organ.

Question 5

What is the spatial resolution of nuclear medicine?

Answer 5

Relatively poor.

Question 6

Is nuclear medicine a high dose procedure?

Answer 6

Yes.

Question 7

What are radiopharmaceuticals composed of?

Answer 7

Radionuclide and pharmaceutical.

Question 8

What role does a radiopharmaceutical play in the body?

Answer 8

Acts as a tracer for a particular physiologic or chemical process.

Question 9

What is Technetium-99m used for?

Answer 9

Most commonly used radionuclide for diagnostic imaging.

Question 10

What is the half-life of Technetium-99m?

Answer 10

6 hours.

Question 11

What is Technetium-99m produced from?

Answer 11

Decay of Molybdenum-99 (99Mo).

Question 12

What is the half-life of Molybdenum-99?

Answer 12

28 days.

Question 13

How is Molybdenum-99 produced?

Answer 13

By neutron irradiation of Molybdenum-98 or extracted from fission products.

Question 14

What is the purpose of the Technetium-99m generator?

Answer 14

To elute Technetium-99m from Molybdenum-99.

Question 15

What is the elution process in the Technetium-99m generator?

Answer 15

Technetium-99m is eluted from alumina by passing sterile saline through it.

Question 16

What is sodium pertechnetate (NaTcO4)?

Answer 16

The resulting eluate from the Technetium-99m generator.

Question 17

What are common radiopharmaceuticals used in nuclear medicine?

Answer 17

• Bone scan
• Lung scan
• Myocardial perfusion imaging
• Kidney imaging.

Question 18

What does a gamma camera do?

Answer 18

Detects gamma rays emitted from radiopharmaceuticals.

Question 19

What is the function of the collimator in a gamma camera?

Answer 19

Controls the gamma rays reaching the scintillation detector.

Question 20

How are gamma rays converted in gamma cameras?

Answer 20

Into flashes of light by the scintillation crystal.

Question 21

What transforms light into electrical signals in gamma cameras?

Answer 21

An array of photomultiplier tubes (PMT).

Question 22

What do the X and Y signals in gamma cameras represent?

Answer 22

The spatial location of the scintillation.

Question 23

What does the Z signal in gamma cameras represent?

Answer 23

The energy deposited in the crystal by the gamma ray.

Question 24

What is the most common type of collimator in gamma cameras?

Answer 24

Parallel hole collimator.

Question 25

What determines the properties of a collimator?

Answer 25

The thickness and length of the lead septa separating the holes.

Question 26

What is the compromise in collimator performance?

Answer 26

Between spatial resolution and sensitivity.

Question 27

What is spatial resolution in collimators?

Answer 27

The ability to distinguish two small sources of radioactivity close to each other.

Question 28

What is sensitivity in collimators?

Answer 28

A measure of gamma rays incident on the collimator that pass through to the detector.

Question 29

What is the scintillation crystal made of?

Answer 29

Thin crystal of sodium iodide, doped with thallium (NaI(Tl)).

Question 30

What happens when a photon interacts with the scintillation crystal?

Answer 30

It emits a photon of visible light by the process of scintillation.

Question 31

What is the function of photomultiplier tubes (PMTs)?

Answer 31

Detect small amounts of light produced in scintillation.

Question 32

What is the purpose of dynodes in PMTs?

Answer 32

To accelerate electrons and amplify the signal.

Question 33

How does the distance from scintillation affect PMT output?

Answer 33

Closer tubes produce a larger amount of light.

Question 34

What does the sum of pulse heights in PMTs represent?

Answer 34

The total amount of light produced.

Question 35

What are CZT gamma cameras known for?

Answer 35

Improved energy resolution.

Question 36

What is unique about pixelization in CZT cameras?

Answer 36

Each hole in the collimator aligns with a single corresponding detector pixel.

Question 37

What is the benefit of registered collimation in CZT cameras?

Answer 37

Simplifies localization of events detected within a single tiny pixel.

Question 38

What are novel camera designs in nuclear medicine?

Answer 38

Spectrum Dynamics with 12 CZT detectors in a 360° configuration.