ABSTRACT
CH A P T E 6 Radiation Protection in Nuclear Medicine Cecilia Hindorf Radiation Physics, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
Lena Jo¨nsson Medical Radiation Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
I n nuclear medicine radioactive substances are administered to patientswith the purpose to diagnose or to treat a disease. After the adminis-tration of the radiopharmaceutical, the patient is imaged by using either a scintillation camera (SPECT) or a camera for positron emission tomography (PET). The cameras depict images of organ function; for example, ventilation of the lungs, perfusion of the myocardium, the filtration of the kidneys, or the glucose metabolism. Many different radionuclide therapies are given but the most widely applied therapeutic procedure is the treatment of thyrotoxicosis (hyperthyroidism) with radioactive iodine (131I-NaI).
