Problems in detection and measurement in nuclear medicine

Abstract

Nuclear Medicine studies are performed with a variety of types of radiation measurement instruments, depending on the kind of radiation source that is being measured and the type of information sought. For example, some instruments are designed for in vitro measurements on blood samples, urine specimens, and so forth. Others are designed for in vivo measurements of radioactivity in patients. All these instruments have special design characteristics to optimize them for their specific tasks, as described in this study; however, some considerations of design characteristics and performance limitations are common to all of them. An important consideration for any radiation measurement instrument is its detection efficiency. Maximum detection efficiency is desirable because one thus obtains maximum information with a minimum amount of radioactivity. Also important are instrument’s counting rate limitations. There are finite counting rate limits for all counting and imaging instruments used in nuclear medicine, above which accurate results are obtained because of data losses and other data distortions. Non penetrating radiations, such as s particles, have special detection and measurement problems. In this study, some of these general considerations have been discussed.