Nuclear Medicine (NM)

SHS 431
Sadaf Abdul Qadir

Reference Text Books: Nuclear Medicine Physics ,

The Basics: 8th Edition, Ramesh Chandra, PhD
Nuclear Medicine: Fundamentals
Instrumentatio
n

Radiopharmaceutical Radiation Physics

 Physics of Radiation

Computers Radiation Detection

Clinical Application

Radiation Protection

Techniques and Radiopharmacy

Applications

Instrumentation Patient Handling &

Injection Techniques
Introduction to Nuclear Physics:
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
structure of matter that are essential for the understanding of
subsequent subject matter e.g. Nuclear Medicine
Matter, Elements, and Atoms
⚫ All matter is composed of a limited number of elements (118
so far, given in Periodic Table, Table 1.1)
⚫ All elements are made up of atoms. An atom is the smallest
part of an element that retains all its chemical properties.
⚫ In general, atoms are electrically neutral; that is, they do not
show any electric charge.
⚫ Atoms are composed of three elementary particles: electrons,
protons, and neutrons.
⚫ An electron is a tiny particle that possesses a negative charge
of 1.6022 × 10−19 coulomb (unit of charge) and a mass of 9.109
× 10^ −31 kg. A proton is a particle with a positive charge equal
in amount to that of an electron. A neutron does not have any
electric charge and weighs slightly more than a proton.
⚫Protons and neutrons have masses of 1.6726 × 10−27
and 1.6749 × 10−27 kg, respectively; hence, they are
about 2,000 times heavier than an electron.
Simplified Structure of an Atom
⚫An atom is generally neutral because it contains the same
number of electrons and protons. The number of protons
in an atom is also known as the atomic number Z. It
specifies the position of that element in the periodic table
(Table 1.1), and therefore its chemical identity.
⚫The electrons, protons, and neutrons in an atom are
arranged in a planetary structure; that is, the protons and
neutrons (the sun) are located at the center, and the
electrons (planets) are revolving over the surface of
spherical shells (or orbits) of different radii.
⚫The center in which the protons and neutrons are
located is known as the nucleus and is similar to a
packed sphere. The size of atoms of different elements
varies greatly but is in the range of 1 to 2 × 10−10 m. The
nucleus is really small in comparison to the atom
(about 105 times smaller or 10−15 m in size).
⚫The attractive coulomb (electrical) force between the
positively charged nucleus (on account of the protons)
and the negatively charged electrons provides stability
to the electrons revolving in the spherical shells.
⚫ The first shell (having the smallest radius) is known as the
K shell, the second shell as L, the third shell as M, and so
on.
⚫ There is a limit to the number of electrons that can occupy
a given shell. The K shell can be occupied by a maximum
of 2 electrons, the L shell by a maximum of 8 electrons, the
M shell by a maximum of 18 electrons, and the N shell by a
maximum of 32 electrons.
⚫ However, the outermost shell in a given atom cannot be
occupied by more than eight electrons. In a simple atom
such as hydrogen, there is only one electron that under
normal circumstances occupies the K shell.
⚫ In a complex atom such as iodine, there are 53 electrons that are
arranged in the K, L, M, N, and O orbits in numbers of 2, 8, 18,
18, and 7, respectively.
⚫ The arrangement of electrons in various shells for hydrogen and
three other typical atoms is shown in Figure 1.1 on next slide.
This is a simplified description of the atomic structure, which,
in reality, is more complex because each shell is further divided
into subshells.
⚫Molecules
⚫Molecules are formed by the combination of two or more
atoms (e.g., a molecule of water, H2O, is formed by the
combination of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen
atom).
⚫The combination of atoms is accomplished through the
interaction of electrons (also known as valent/valancy
electrons) in the outermost orbits of the atoms.
⚫Valent electrons participate in the formation of the
molecules in several ways— for example, in ionic binding,
covalent binding, and hydrogen binding.
⚫In theory, most chemical reactions and chemical properties
of atoms or molecules can be explained on the basis of the
interaction of the valent electrons.
Binding Energy, Ionization, and Excitation
⚫Each electron in a given shell is bound to the nucleus with
a fixed amount of energy.
⚫Therefore, if one wishes to remove an electron from a
particular shell to make it free and no longer associated
with that atom, energy will have to be provided to the
electron from outside the atom.
⚫The minimum amount of energy necessary to free an
electron from an atom is known as the binding
energy of the electron in that atom.
⚫The unit in which energy is measured on the atomic scale
is known as an electron volt (eV), which is the energy
acquired by an electron accelerated through 1V of
potential difference.
⚫The electrons in the K shell are the most tightly bound
electrons in an atom and therefore require the most
energy to be removed from the atom.
⚫Electrons in the outermost shell, on the other hand,
are the least tightly bound electrons and therefore
require the least amount of energy for their removal
from the atom.
⚫The binding energy of electrons in various shells
increases rapidly with the atomic number Z.
Binding Energy, Ionization, and Excitation
⚫Under normal conditions, electrons occupy the lowest
possible shells (those closest to the nucleus) consistent
with the maximum number of electrons by which a given
shell can be occupied.
⚫However, electrons can be made to move into higher
shells (unoccupied shells) temporarily by the absorption
of energy.
⚫This absorption can take place in various ways—for
example, by (1) heating a substance, (2) by subjecting
matter to high electric fields, (3) by passage of a charged
particle through matter, (4) or even by a high mechanical
impact.
⚫When an electron absorbs sufficient energy for its
removal from the atom, the process is called
ionization and the remaining atom, an ion.
⚫When the electron absorbs amounts of energy that are
just sufficient to move it into a higher unoccupied
shell, the process is known as excitation and the atom
as an excited atom.
⚫Excited atoms are, in general, unstable and acquire
their normal configuration by emitting
electromagnetic radiation (light, ultraviolet light, or x-
rays), generally within 10−9 seconds.
Binding Energy, Ionization, and Excitation
⚫For example, let us consider a sodium atom, which has an
atomic number of 11 and therefore 11 electrons and 11
protons.
⚫The electrons are arranged in K, L, and M shells in
numbers of 2, 8, and 1, respectively.
⚫The energies of these electrons in the K, L, and M shells
are approximately −1,072, −63, and −1 eV, respectively.
⚫To remove an electron from the K shell of a sodium atom,
it is necessary to provide an amount of energy equal to
1072 eV, whereas from the M shell only 1 eV of energy is
necessary.
⚫An electron from the L shell can move to the M shell by
absorbing 62 eV of energy, thereby producing an excited
atom of sodium. When this excited atom decays (i.e.,
when the electron jumps back into the L shell), an
electromagnetic radiation of 62 eV will be emitted.
.
Forces or Fields
⚫Force is a general term related to the interaction of
various constituents of matter. At present, four kinds of
forces (or fields) are known: gravitational, weak,
electromagnetic, and strong.
⚫Gravitational forces are produced as a result of the mass
of matter and play a significant role in holding our solar
system intact, but they are negligible between atoms and
molecules and therefore not discussed here.
⚫Weak forces play a significant part in nuclear
transformation.
⚫Electromagnetic forces play a dominant role in our
daily life because they hold the atom together and are
responsible for interactions between atoms,
molecules, biomolecules, and so on.
⚫Strong forces are the forces that hold a nucleus
together and act between proton–proton, proton–
neutron, and neutron–neutron. The relative strengths
of these forces are listed as follows:
⚫Electromagnetic Forces.
⚫Electromagnetic forces or fields are produced by charged
particles. During interactions between charged particles,
quite often energy is emitted as electromagnetic radiation.
⚫Electromagnetic radiation can propagate either as waves or
as particles.
⚫When electromagnetic radiation behaves like particles,
these particles are called photons.
⚫A photon does not have any rest mass or charge. It is a
packet of energy that interacts with matter in a specified
manner or according to the laws of electromagnetic forces.
⚫The dual nature of radiation, which is now an established
fact, is true of matter (i.e., electrons) as well.
⚫Electromagnetic radiation is characterized by its energy
or wavelength only. Electromagnetic radiation of varying
energies is known by different names (Fig. 1.2). The
energy of electromagnetic radiation is related to the
wavelength by a simple relationship: E = hc/λ
⚫where h is Planck’s constant, c is the velocity of light or
electromagnetic radiation, and λ is the wavelength. The
above relationship is further reduced if one measures
energy in keV and the wavelength in nanometers (1 nm =
10−9 m):
Any Question