What is the half-life of TC 99?
What is the half-life of TC 99?
Technetium-99 can be found as a component of nuclear waste. Technetium-99m is a short-lived form of Tc-99 that is used as a medical diagnostic tool. It has a short half-life (6 hours) and does not remain in the body or the environment for long.
What is a radiopharmaceutical isotope?
Radiopharmaceuticals are radioisotopes bound to biological molecules able to target specific organs, tissues or cells within the human body. These radioactive drugs can be used for the diagnosis and, increasingly, for the therapy of diseases.
Who discovered technetium-99m?
Emilio Segrè
Technetium-99m was actually discovered in 1938 by Emilio Segrè. After a visit to Ernest O. Lawrence’s Berkeley Radiation Laboratory, Segrè was sent a molybdenum strip from the laboratory’s cyclotron deflector in 1937 that was emitting anomalous forms of radioactivity.
What does the M mean in technetium-99m?
Technetium-99m is a metastable nuclear isomer, as indicated by the “m” after its mass number 99. This means it is a decay product whose nucleus remains in an excited state that lasts much longer than is typical.
Where does Mo-99 come from?
Mo-99 is produced in the uranium-bearing targets by irradiating them with thermal neutrons. Some of the U-235 nuclei absorb these neutrons, which can cause them to fission. The fission of the U-235 nucleus produces two but sometimes three lower-mass nuclei referred to as fission fragments.
What sort of college degree would you typically need to become a nuclear medicine technologist?
associate’s degree
Nuclear medicine technologists typically need an associate’s degree from an accredited nuclear medicine technology program. Technologists must be licensed in about one half of the states; requirements vary by state. Nuclear medicine technologists typically need an associate’s degree in nuclear medicine technology.
What happens to radiopharmaceuticals when they enter the body?
The radiopharmaceutical then passes through, or is taken up by, an organ of the body (which organ depends on what radiopharmaceutical is used and how it has been given). Then the radioactivity is detected, and pictures are produced, by special imaging equipment.
What is called a radiopharmaceutical?
Listen to pronunciation. (RAY-dee-oh-FAR-muh-SOO-tih-kul) A drug that contains a radioactive substance and is used to diagnose or treat disease, including cancer. Also called radioactive drug.