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EducationNuclear Medical Imaging. How Radioactive Am I?
12th Sep 2018 03:05 UTCJenna Mast
I recently had some medical nuclear imaging done in which an isomer called Technetium-99m was used as a tracer. After the injection I was given a card to identify myself as someone who has recently had nuclear imaging done, as apparently the tracer is radioactive enough to set off government radiation detectors. This, of course, piqued my curiosity, as I'm sure it would that of others here, so eventually I decided to see just how radioactive I was and unpacked my GM counter.
Unpleasantly enough, roughly 7 hours after the tracer injection, I was saturating the most sensitive scale and clocking in at around 3 mR per hour...far more than any of my radioactive specimens register. The total dose is estimated to be around 5 mSv.
12th Sep 2018 04:32 UTCDean Allum Expert
I recall that radiation industry employees have a limit of 100 mR per year. Understand that these people are exposed to radiation for many years of their life so this limit is kept conservative.
A web search showed that Technetium-99m has a half life of 6 hours, so you were probably at the 6 mR/hour level at the beginning, but should be below 0.4 mR/hr a day from now. Seems like you will stay below the 100mR total, but I am not familiar with the 'locational' aspect of this dose.
I also noticed that the gamma rays have 140KeV energy. Quite low compared to most radioactive isotopes.
Keep drinking lots of water. Let us know if you glow in the dark.
12th Sep 2018 09:51 UTCAlysson Rowan Expert
Yes, this sounds alarming.
When the metastable nuclide has reached background levels, the remaining radionuclide will barely increase your body's radioactivity at all - considering that we all include naturally occurring Potassium-40, Carbon-14 and Tritium (radioactive hydrogen).
When nuclear systemic imaging is performed, the amount of radionuclide is calculated on the basis of being sufficient to produce the required imaging, and also to not increase your annual dose (what you get during the imaging cycle) or your lifetime dose commitment (what is left in your body for months/years afterward) above pre-set limits.
As a rule of thumb, the radiation dose you receive from the technitium will be about the same as you would expect from a standard X-ray series.
12th Sep 2018 13:17 UTCMatt Courville
I had looked into similar questions for my worried mother a little while back. This Canadian government site (posted at bottom) has some good info, but I specifically appreciated the 'Radiation Dose Examples' diagram which shows user-friendly comparisons for those without a scientific/nuclear properties education.(almost at the end of the page)
It surprised me to realize that a chest CT scan emits 70 times radiation than a chest X-Ray, and yet popular culture would have you fear the x-ray.
It would seem that you would require 10 of these doses you had mentioned, before reaching the 'annual dose limit for nuclear energy workers' based on the Canadian limits. Modern medicine sees the pros outweighing the cons in such treatments.
Hope this helps - Matt
http://nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/resources/radiation/introduction-to-radiation/radiation-doses.cfm
13th Sep 2018 18:59 UTCReiner Mielke Expert
13th Sep 2018 19:56 UTCDoug Daniels
13th Sep 2018 20:42 UTCBecky Coulson 🌟 Expert
13th Sep 2018 22:08 UTCJeff Weissman Expert
13th Sep 2018 22:12 UTCColin Robinson
14th Sep 2018 09:46 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager
20th Sep 2018 20:20 UTCJenna Mast
I made an audio recording. I will try to find a way to upload it.
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Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: March 28, 2024 12:26:23