Physics and Radiobiology of Nuclear Medicine

The knowledge of physics, instrumentation, and radiobiology in nuclear medicine has advanced greatly since the first edition of this book was pub- lished in 1993. This, along with the appreciation of the book by the nuclear medicine community, has prompted us to do a second edition. As with the first edition, this book is primarily addressed to residents taking the American Board ofNuclear Medicine and the American Board of Radiology with Special Competency in Nuclear Medicine examinations, and to technologists taking the Registry examination in nuclear medicine. In addition, anyone interested in the physics, instrumentation, and radiobiology of nuclear medicine should find the book useful. I have made both additions and deletions to the previous edition of the book, to keep it up to date. At the end of each chapter are a set of questions and a list of suggested readings. The book contains 15 chapters. The first 10 chapters and Chapter 15 have only minor changes. Chapter 8 has a new seetion on various currently available solid scintillation detectors. Chapter 9 has a new seetion on digital cameras. Chapter 10 has an expanded section on nonlinearity and non- uniformity of the gamma camera systems. Chapter 11, on digital computers in nuclear medicine, is entirely new. Tomographie imaging systems have been thoroughly upgraded in Chapter 12, stressing particularly the recon- struction of images. Chapter 13, on internal radiation dosimetry, has been updated to include additional information on S values and effective doses.