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An Overview of Nuclear Imaging

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Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry

Abstract

Radionuclide imaging involves the use of unsealed sources of radioactivity which are administered in the form of radiopharmaceuticals. The ionizing radiations which accompany the decay of the administered radioactivity can be detected, measured, and imaged with instruments such as gamma cameras and single-photon emission tomography (SPECT) and positron-emission tomography (PET) scanners. The distinctive and important advantages of radionuclide-based molecular imaging—high detection sensitivity and “image-ability” of non-perturbing doses of radiopharmaceuticals, quantitation, and a vast array of radiopharmaceuticals—ensure that this modality (particularly in combination with computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging) will remain invaluable in clinical practice and in clinical and preclinical research. This chapter reviews the design and operating principles as well as the capabilities and limitations of instruments used clinically and preclinically for in vivo radionuclide imaging.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Although nuclear medicine remains primarily a diagnostic specialty, unsealed sources of radioactivity are also used therapeutically. The therapeutic applications of nuclear medicine are beyond the scope of this chapter, however.

  2. 2.

    Energy resolution is a parameter which reflects the ability of radiation detectors to distinguish radiations of different energies.

  3. 3.

    High-energy (> ~1-MeV) beta particles (such as those emitted by the pure beta-particle emitter yttium-90, for example) produce a small but imageable amount of bremsstrahlung [“brake radiation”) x-rays] as they slow down in tissue. Bremsstrahlung imaging is not widely used, however, and produces poor quality images.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Pat Zanzonico

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  1. Pat Zanzonico
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Correspondence to Pat Zanzonico .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Jason S. Lewis

  2. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Albert D. Windhorst

  3. Department of Chemistry, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Brian M. Zeglis

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Zanzonico, P. (2019). An Overview of Nuclear Imaging. In: Lewis, J., Windhorst, A., Zeglis, B. (eds) Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98947-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98947-1_6

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