Nuclear Medicine Technology Study Guide
exam with complete solutions
The venous blood returning be at the superior Vena cava and the inferior vena cava
enters the heart at the: - ANSWER-Right Attrium
Blood received by the right ventricle from the right atrium is propelled into the
pulmonary artery in the pulmonary circulation. Oxygenated blood is returned by the
pulmonary veins to the left atrium. The left ventricle ejects blood into systemic
circulation
The mechanism by which the epithelial cells of the thyroid concentrate iodine is termed: -
ANSWER-Active transport
Thyroid concentrate iodine from the bloodstream and a gradient 20:1. The trapping
mechanism operates through the sodium potassium pump.
Flood field nonuniformity images reconstructed SPECT images can result in: - ANSWER-
Ring artifacts
If the counts in one pixel of the image are falsely decreased, then information at that
location will be back projected at the decreased level. The result in the reconstructed
image will be a ring artifact, with the radius of the ring equal to the distance of the pixel
from the COR.
Tc-99m Sulfur colloid can be used in all of the following types of imaging except: -
ANSWER-Brain imaging
TC 99M sulfur colloid can also be used in esophageal transit time, gastroesophageal
reflux, and gastric emptying study's.
What is hypokinesis?
[modified] - ANSWER-This refers to decreased contractile function of the left ventricle,
e.g., during a severe ischemia. The heart muscle and the distribution of the involved
vessels is often hypokinetic due to the diminish blood supply.
Popular radiation safety acronym ALARA stands for? - ANSWER-As low as reasonably
achievable
,It indicates making every reasonable attempt to maintain exposure to ionizing radiation
as far below the dose limits as practical.
TC 99M is used in the majority of all standard nuclear medicine studies because TC 99M:
- ANSWER-Provides good tissue penetration
TC 99M is a pure gamma and beta so no particle radiation is being produced. It's half life
is so long that the body efficiently excretes it before it can have any real negative health
effects.
A dose calibrator is used to assay the amount of radioactivity in a sample before it is
administered to a patient. All radiation leaving the source placed in the dose calibrator is
detected except radiation directed it toward: - ANSWER-The hole at the top
The dose calibrator is an ionizing chamber used to determine the activity of
radiopharmaceuticals. Once activity is detected (in a syringe or vial ), the dose calibrator
converts it based on the radionuclides gamma constant - to units of activity in curies or
becquerels.
The size of the colloid particles is important in imaging the reticuloendothelial system.
Particles smaller than 20nm tend to accumulate in: - ANSWER-The bone marrow
Larger particles > 100 nm accumulate in the liver and spleen
If the expected value of the long lived source is 120 µCi and the actual reading obtain
from the dose calibrator is 122 µCi what is the percentage error of the reading? -
ANSWER-1.7
Expected-Actual
———————————- x100%
Expected
The cardiac measurement defined as the blood volume pumped out by the ventricle over
one minute time period is called the: - ANSWER-Cardiac output
cardiac output (CO) is the stroke volume multiplied by the heart rate. CO=SV x HR
End Diastolic Volume(EDV) is the volume if the chancer when completely filled with
blood
Stroke Volume is the volume of blood ejected by each ventricle during systole
Ejection Fraction is the percentage of EDV that is ejected by a ventricle during systole
,Esophageal transit's scintigraphy is fast, noninvasive, and easy to perform diagnostic
procedures, but it's widespread use is limited because of: - ANSWER-Lack of
standardization
Also, it is not an easy test, since the patient has to drive swallow for 10 minutes. The
main indication for forming ES is to evaluate esophageal emptying and reflux and
patients with esophageal dysmotility.
The daily quality control for the dose calibrator includes a constancy check typically
performed with small amounts of cobalt 57 or cesium 137. Cesium 137 has a half-life of
30 years and produces: - ANSWER-662 keV
In larger amounts, cesium 137 is used in medical radiation therapy devices for treating
cancer and in industrial gauges for detecting the flow of liquid through pipes.
Scintigraphy is the gold standard measurement of gastric emptying for diagnosis of
Gastro paresis. All the following symptoms are common among patients: - ANSWER-
Nausea, vomiting, early satiety, abdominal bloating
Tachycardia is not included as it is a rapid heart rate usually defined as greater than 100
bpm.
The node located at the top of the right atrium is referred to as:
[modified] - ANSWER-The sinoatrial node
Acting as the hearts natural pacemaker, the SA node (also commonly spelled sinuatrial
node, abbreviated as SA node or SAN, also called the sinus node, produces impulses at
regular intervals to cause the heart to contract with the rhythm of about 60 to 70 bpm for
a healthy resting heart.
The NRC has provided complete guidelines for retention of all records generated in a
nuclear medicine department. Which of the following documentation should be kept
indefinitely? - ANSWER-Personnel monitoring
Misadministrations and sealed source inventory documentation should be kept for five
years, three years of storage is required for patient dosage records.
The radionuclides emitting beta particles should be stored in containers of low Z material
to prevent - ANSWER-Bremsstrahlung radiation
beta emitting substances should be shielded with low dissing teeth materials e.g. plexi
glass, plastic, wood because the rate of deceleration of the electron is slower and the
radiation given off has a longer wavelength, or less penetrating.
, The mathematical process of applying a negative value to both sides of the density
histogram of each ray sum is called convolution filtering and is used in reconstruction
method called - ANSWER-Filtered back projection.
In the filtered back projection method based on direct inversion of the radon transform
the limited number of projections introduces streak artifacts and the image
reconstructions
580 µCi is equal to how many Ci? - ANSWER-0.00058Ci
1Ci= 1000mCi = 1,000,000µCi
Fever of unknown origin can be caused by all of the following disorders/factors: -
ANSWER-Infection, neoplasm, drugs, noninfectious inflammatory disease, vasiculitis
syndrome, rheumatic fever, granulatomas disorders
Stress is not a factor
When approaching unresponsive victim their occasional guess the rescuer should: -
ANSWER-Give rescue breaths
occasional gasps, which can occur in the first minutes after sudden cardiac arrest are
not effective breaths.
TC 99M methylene diphosphonate is the most widely used bone imaging agent. Uptake
of a tracer depends on all of the following: - ANSWER-Local blood flow. Osteoclastic
activity. Extraction efficiency.
TC 99M MDP is absorbed onto the hydroxyapatite crystals on the mineralizing bones
surfaces and kidney is the major route of radionuclide elimination.Liver function is not
included.
The extrinsic flood image evaluates the uniformity of: - ANSWER-Detector and collimator
extrinsic floods are performed with a kilometer in place which allows evaluation of the
particular column meter on the flood field
All of the following can be seen on a normal bone scan: - ANSWER-Activity in the skull is
often patchy. Often there is focal maxillary and mandibular alveolar ridge activity in
adults. There is activity throughout the spine, and it is common to see focal areas of
increased activity in the lower cervical spine. Areas of tendon insertion, chronic stress,
and osseous remodeling demonstrate increased activity. There is prominent
visualization of the sternum, sternalclavicular joints, acrominoclavicular joints,
shoulders, iliac crest, and hips. The Thoracic spine, and the tips of the scapula are well
