Diagnostic Applications (nuclear imaging, PET, SPECT)
Start with the big picture
The lesson begins with the core imaging principle: a radiopharmaceutical targets a tissue or process, and its emitted radiation is detected to form an image. It outlines desirable properties of diagnostic radionuclides and surveys key tracers, including technetium-99m agents used across several SPECT applications and iodine-123 for thyroid imaging. Other examples connect specific radionuclides with cardiac, infection, pulmonary, and neuroendocrine imaging. For PET, the lesson explains positron emission and coincident detection of annihilation photons, then introduces F-18 FDG and other PET agents. The wider chapter structure also covers SPECT–PET comparison, hybrid modalities, quality control, radiation safety, operational considerations, artifacts, and workflow.
What you'll learn
- Explain how radiopharmaceutical targeting and photon detection produce nuclear images.
- Identify characteristics of an ideal diagnostic radionuclide.
- Match selected SPECT tracers with representative clinical applications.
- Describe PET positron detection and recognize common PET tracers.
- Compare the basic detection approaches used in SPECT and PET.
Continue your study
Work through the complete notes and reinforce the topic with the study tools available in the full lesson.
