Radioisotopes - Tc-99m and Cobalt-60 help (1 Viewer)

[x-v1n-x]

does any1 have any info/notes on the production, uses, benefits/problems of the medical radioisotope Tc-99m and the industrial radioisotope Cobalt-60? much help would be appreciated thanx

 

[Forbidden.]

does any1 have any info/notes on the production, uses, benefits/problems of the medical radioisotope Tc-99m and the industrial radioisotope Cobalt-60? much help would be appreciated thanx

This is the available info I have.


Technetium-99m (Tc-99m)


Uses:
Used to image the brain, thyroid, lungs, liver, spleen, kidney, gall bladder,
skeleton, blood pool, bone marrow, heart blood pool, salivary and lacrimal glands,
and to detect infection.

Production:
Because Tc-99m has a half-life of 6 hours, it has to be 'milked' through a saline (saltwater) solution from a sealed Molybdenum-99 container which has a longer half-life of about 66 hours.
The Molybdenum-99 is made from placing special UO₂ pellets into the reactor core which undergoes fission.


Cobalt-60


Uses:
Used in gamma radiography, gauging, and commercial medical equipment sterilisation.

Production:
Artificial ⁶⁰Co is created by bombarding a ⁵⁹Co target with a slow neutron source or in a nuclear reactor.



Benefits (applies to both isotopes unless specifically stated):
* They can be transported fairly easily.
* Non-invasive
* Easily excreted
* Easily easily attached to biological carriers (Mixing with a solution that can be absorbed by the body safely and easily) (Tc-99m)
* Emits low-energy gamma radiation (Tc-99m)
* Has a short half life of 6 hours (Tc-99m)


Problems (applies to both isotopes):
* Technicians and workers in nuclear industries must avoid contamination as
diseases such as cancer and leukemia can result from radiation exposure.
* Regular health checks required.
* Gaseous and solid radioactive wastes produced increased radiation in environment.
* Storage of solid or liquid wastes for many thousands of years.
* Problems with storage and management of materials with both short and long half-lives.

 

[dr baby beanie]

Adding to problems:
*short half life of of Tc-99m (6 hours) means it might have transport problems, particularly for rural/country hospitals. (also hence why they pack it as *something*, as to let it decay into Tc-99m.)
*althought it's a small dose, even such a small amount of radiation can be (unknowingly) harmful

Edit for forbidden. instead of "blood pool" it might be better to say it can be used to check for circulation problems.

...Sorry I don't have my notes with me. I have quite good info on it also Forbidden has done an excellent job .

 

[x-v1n-x]

thanx

 

[twilight1412]

they get tc 99 from molybenum <--- not sure about the spelling

 

[Forbidden.]

they get tc 99 from molybenum <--- not sure about the spelling

It's actually Molybdenum.
I say mol-lee-deb-num and this strange pronounciation helps me remember it.
They do get Technetium from Molybdenum but my faint memory only allows me to know that Molybdenum is stored because it has a 66-hour half-life compared to Technetium's 6 hour half-life.

 

[powerdrive]

http://members.optusnet.com.au/badtz_style/HSC stuff/Uses of radioisotopes.pdf

 

[phe]

thanks heaps
i quite possibly have the same formative as x-v1n-x so this was really helpful

thanks again