Nuclear Medicine

A Radiopharmaceutical is a drug that can be used either for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. It is composed of a radioisotope bond to an organic molecule. The organic molecule conveys the radioisotope to specific organs, tissues or cells. The radioisotope is selected for its properties.

Radioisotopes emitting penetrating gamma rays are used for diagnostic (imaging) where the radiation has to escape the body before being detected by a specific device (SPECT/PET cameras). Typically, the radiation emitted by isotope used for imaging vanishes completely after 1 day through radioactive decay and normal body excretion. The most common isotopes for imaging are: 99mTc, I123, I131, Tl201, In111 and F18.

Radioisotopes emitting short range particles (alpha or beta) are used for therapy due to their power to lose all their energy over a very short distance, therefore causing a lot of local damage (such as cell destruction). This property is used for therapeutic purposes: cancer cells destruction, pain treatment in palliative care for bone cancer or arthritis. Such isotopes stay longer in the body than imaging ones; this is intentional in order to increase treatment efficiency, but this remains limited to several days. The most common therapeutic isotopes are: I131, Y90, Rh188 and Lu177.