Radiation Dosimetry Radiation is known to produce a number of deleterious effects in a living system. Therefore, it is important to properly assess the benefits and risks to a patient…

Interaction of High-Energy Radiation with Matter Interaction is a fundamental aspect of nature. Our ability to see, hear, smell, and taste is a vivid manifestation of interaction. This chapter, however,…

Radiopharmaceuticals In nuclear medicine, radionuclides are rarely used in their simplest chemical form. Instead, they are incorporated in a variety of chemical compounds that may be of interest because of…

Production of Radionuclides In 1896, Henry Becquerel discovered that uranium was radioactive. Soon after, other naturally occurring radionuclides such as radium and polonium were discovered. Most naturally occurring radionuclides have…

Radioactivity: Law of Decay, Half-Life, and Statistics Radionuclides are unstable and decay to other nuclides by the processes discussed previously. At what rates do radionuclides decay? Do all radionuclides decay…

Nuclides and Radioactive Processes In the previous chapter, we discussed the structure of the atom and pointed out the importance of electrons and their interaction. In this chapter, we discuss…

Basic Review From a physicist’s point of view, nature consists mainly of matter and the forces governing the behavior of matter. This chapter reviews briefly some aspects of the atomic…