Siemens Corporate Technology New Technology Fields Healthcare & Technology Concepts (CT NTF HTC) have proposed a novel electrostatic accelerator for nuclear medicine which aims at gradients of up to 10 MV m^-1. With beam currents of 100 μA at ≈10 MeV it might replace cyclotrons whilst being simpler, more reliable and more cost effective. The accelerator concept consists of concentric hemispherical metallic shells spaced by insulators and placed in a vacuum system. The shells are interconnected by high voltage diodes so that they form a voltage multiplier with its highest voltage in its centre. Particle beams can be accelerated towards the centre through a set of holes in the shells. In tandem mode, with a stripper in the centre and a negative ion source as injector, beams of twice the centre voltage can be achieved. This thesis presents several commissioning milestones of a test system for the novel electrostatic accelerator, thus validating the concept for commercial applications. An inter shell insulator has been designed and successfully tested to fields of 12 MV m^-1. A diode protection concept has been devised and validated in realistic breakdown scenarios. An AC drive system including control software has been developed, delivering a sinusoidal input voltage of up to 140 kV peak to peak at 80 kHz. An automatic process to carefully commission the high voltage system in vacuum has been created, implemented in a control system and successfully operated. A 4-shell prototype with these components has been successfully tested with achieved gradients of up to 5.5 MV m^-1. A negative hydrogen ion source has been constructed, commissioned and characterised with a purposely developed wire grid. Beam currents beyond 200 μA have been achieved. Beam transport from the ion source through the 7-shell system has been demonstrated in simulations which are based on experimental data from the ion source characterisation. A stripper system has been designed and constructed.

Bakgrund: Ett sjukhus i mellersta Sverige utför samordnade undersökningar i samband med när barnet behöver sövas inför en magnetisk resonanstomografi (MR) undersökning. Detta koordineras och bokas av en röntgensjuksköterska som därefter skickar ut en kallelse till patienten. Syfte: Att belysa hur föräldrar upplever att flera olika undersökningar utförs på deras barn i samband med sövning vid MR-undersökning. Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ ansats där enskilda intervjuer med föräldrarna har skett. Urvalet för studien bestod av åtta föräldrar vars barn blev sövda inför en MR-undersökning där fler andra undersökningar gjordes vid samma tillfälle. Resultat: Informanterna var helt eniga om att de samordnade undersökningarna var något positivt. En viktig aspekt som många av informanterna nämnde var bemötandet från vårdpersonalen vilket majoriteten var nöjda med. Mindre nöjda var några informanter kring informationen angående MR. Slutsats: Generellt är föräldrarna nöjda med samordnade undersökningar. Ett informationsbrev kring hur MR-undersökningen utförs kan skickas med i kallelsen för att förbereda båda barn och föräldrar.

Os radiofármacos são substâncias que possuem radioisótopos em sua composição. Cerca de 95% dos procedimentos realizados em medicina nuclear faz o uso de radiofármacos com finalidade diagnóstica, sendo os reagentes liofilizados (RL) marcados com Tecnécio-99 meta estável (99mTc), obtido a partir de um gerador de 99Mo/99mTc, os mais utilizados. O controle de qualidade representa o conjunto de ensaios a serem realizados para certificar que o produto é adequado ao propósito. Um aspecto importante a ser avaliado nos radiofármacos de 99mTc é a pureza radioquímica (% PRq) para quantificação de pertecnetato livre (99mTcO4 -) e tecnécio coloidal (99mTcO2), principalmente por cromatografia em papel (CP), em camada delgada (CCD) e cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (CLAE). O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar a comparação das metodologias de controle radioquímico de RL marcados com 99mTc descritas nas farmacopéias americana (FA) e europeia (FE) com aquelas utilizadas no IPEN. O eluído de 99mTcO4 e os RL: DISIDA, DMSA, DTPA, EC, ECD, GHA, MIBI, MDP, PIRO, SAH e Sn Coloidal foram provenientes do IPEN-CNEN/SP. Foram utilizados os suportes cromatográficos TLC-celulose, TLC-SG,TLC-SG fase reversa, HPTLC-celulose e HPTLC-SG da Merck e ITLC-SG da Pall Corporation, W1MM, W3MM, W17M e W31ET da Whatman. A contagem da radioatividade foi feita em contador gama Perkin Elmer modelo Cobra D-5002. A marcação dos RL foi feita de modo a obter concentração radioativa de 55,0 MBq mL-1 (1,5 mCi mL-1). Foram determinadas as %99mTcO4 -, %99mTcO2 e % PRq até 4 horas de marcação. Dos 11 RL, apenas EC e GHA não possuem método de controle radioquímico na FA e FE. Na FA e/ou na FE, os métodos para DTPA, MDP, PIRO, SAH e Sn Coloidal utilizam ITLC-SG; no IPEN, este suporte cromatográfico é utilizado em DISIDA, EC, ECD, GHA, PIRO, MIBI e SAH. Devido à descontinuidade na fabricação de ITLC-SG (recomendado em 40, 70 e 41% das metodologias da FA, FE e IPEN, respectivamente), foi necessário buscar alternativas para sua substituição no controle radioquímico, avaliando-se suportes do tipo HPTLC (celulose e sílica gel) e Whatman (com diferenças de espessura e fluxo de corrida). Os resultados de % PRq determinada pelos métodos descritos na FA, FE, IPEN e os demais sistemas avaliados que apresentaram coeficiente de variação menor que 5% não foi considerada diferença significativa entre os métodos. Os sistemas cromatográficos avaliados neste trabalho podem ser utilizados em substituição ao suporte ITLC-SG. O HPTLC-celulose foi o suporte que apresentou tempo de análise, perfil cromatográfico e custo semelhante ao ITLC-SG, tornando-o um dos suportes mais indicados a ser utilizado como alternativa ao ITLC-SG nos 11 RL avaliados. / Radiopharmaceuticals are substances that have radioisotopes in their composition. About 95% of the procedures performed in nuclear medicine use radiopharmaceuticals with diagnostic pruposes, and the Lyophilized Reagents (LR) labeled with Technetium-99m (99mTc), obtained from 99Mo/99mTc generator, are the most one used. Quality Control represents the set of assays to be performed to assure that the product is adequate to its purpose. An important feature to be evaluated in 99mTc radiopharmaceuticals is the radiochemical purity (% RqP) to quantify free pertechnetate (99mTcO4 -) and technetium colloidal (99mTcO2) mainly by paper chromatography (PC), thin layer (TLC) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The objective of this work was to perfom the comparison among the radiochemical control methodologies of LR labeled with 99mTc, described in the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) and European Pharmacopoeia (EP) and those used by IPEN. 99mTcO4 - eluate and DISIDA, DMSA, DTPA, EC, ECD, GHA, MIBI, MDP, PIRO, SAH and Sn Coloidal LR were provided by IPEN-CNEN/SP. TLC-celulose, TLC-SG,TLC-SG reverse phase, HPTLC-celulose, HPTLC-SG (Merck) and ITLC-SG (Pall Corporation), W1MM, W3MM, W17M e W31ET (Whatman) chromatographic plates were used. The measurement of the radioactivity was done in a Perkin Elmer Cobra D-5002 gamma counter. LR were labeled to obtain 55,0 MBq mL-1 (1,5 mCi mL-1) of final radioactive concentration. The %99mTcO4 -, %99mTcO2 and % RqP were determined up to 4 hour labeling. From 11 LR, only EC and GHA have no radiochemical control methods in USP and EP. In USP and/or EP, DTPA, MDP, PIRO, SAH and Sn Coloidal methods use ITLC-SG; IPEN uses this chromatography plate in DISIDA, EC, ECD, GHA, PIRO, MIBI and SAH. As ITLC-SG had been out of production (recommended in 40, 70 and 41% of the USP, EP and IPEN methodologies, respectively), it was necessary to search alternatives to replace ITLC-SG plate in the radiochemical control, comparing with HPTLC (cellulose and silica gel) and Whatman plates (with thickness and flow rate differences). The % RqP results determined by the methods described in USP, EP, IPEN and the methods evaluated in this work presented coefficient of variation less than 5%, and it was not considered a significant value among the methods. Some chromatographic systems evaluated in this work can be used as replacement to the ITLC-SG plate. HPTLC-cellulose was the plate that presented time of analysis chromatography profile and cost similar to ITLC-SG, making it one of the most indicated to replace ITLC-SG, in 11 LR evaluated.

Na rotina clínica de felinos domésticos, algumas modalidades de diagnóstico por imagem, como a ultra-sonografia, radiografia simples e urografia excretora, já são amplamente utilizadas. A cintilografia é uma técnica não invasiva, capaz de oferecer informações funcionais de rins individualmente, porém é considerada uma modalidade menos usual. O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar o tempo de excreção renal de felinos domésticos através da cintilografia, em animais com parâmetros ultra-sonográficos e radiográficos dentro dos limites da normalidade. Foram utilizados 15 animais, 9 machos e 6 fêmeas, e estes foram divididos em grupos de animais não submetidos à anestesia e anestesiados. Foi estabelecido o tempo para o radiofármaco obter acúmulo máximo em cada um dos rins e o tempo para este acúmulo máximo ser reduzido pela metade. Não houve diferença estatística entre os valores dos animais não-anestesiados e anestesiados, nem entre machos e fêmeas, tampouco entre os rins esquerdo e direito. / In internal medicine of domestic cats, imaging modalities, such as ultrasonography, radiography and intravenous pylogram are widely used. Scintigraphy is a non-invasive technique, which provides functional information of each individual kidney; however, it is not widely available or utilized currently in veterinary medicine. The aim of this study was to determine the time of excretion of each kidney in normal domestic cats using nuclear scintigraphy. Fifteen cats (9 males and 6 females) determined to be within normal limits for radiographic and ultrasonographic renal parameters, were divided into two experimental groups (awake and anesthetized cats). Time to maximum radiopharmaceutical activity (T max) and time to decline to half maximum radiopharmaceutical activity (half-time) were determined in each kidney for each cat. No statistical difference was found between groups (awake vs. anesthetized) or sex (males vs. females), or between left and right kidneys.

A avaliação da técnica de cintilografia da perfusão pulmonar foi realizada em 10 cães machos, da raça Rottweiler, radiograficamente normais e soronegativos para dirofilariose, utilizando-se o macroagregado de albumina sérica humana marcado com tecnécio-99m ([99mTc](MAA)) como radiofármaco. Cada animal sedado foi submetido a três diferentes tratamentos, com administração de 50.000, 100.000 e 300.000 partículas de MAA. As imagens obtidas com as doses variadas do radiofármaco, foram comparadas de forma qualitativa e quantitativa, incluindo nesta última a avaliação do índice de perfusão pulmonar e homogeneidade das imagens. Não foram observadas diferenças significativas entre as imagens durante a avaliação visual e cálculo da quantificação relativa da perfusão pulmonar. Porém, o cálculo da uniformidade integral demonstrou diferença significativa na homogeneidade da imagem pulmonar entre as diferentes doses de MAA. Pode-se concluir que existe um aumento na homogeneidade da imagem diretamente relacionado ao número de partículas de magroagregado de albumina injetado, ainda que tal diferença não tenha sido percebida pela análise qualitativa. / The evaluation of pulmonary perfusion scintigraphy technique was accomplished in 10 Rottweiler male dogs, with normal thoracic radiographs and negative for Dirofilaria immitis, using macroaggregated human serum albumin tagged with technetium-99m ([99mTc](MAA)) as radiopharmaceutical. Each sedated animal was subimited to 3 different treatments, with administration of 50.000, 100.000 and 300.000 particles of MAA. The obtained images with diverse radiopharmaceutical doses were qualitative and quantitative compared, including in this the evaluation of radiopharmaceutical distribution and the homogeneity index. There were observed no significative differences between the images during the visual evaluation and calculation of the relative quantification of the lung perfusion. However, the integral uniformity calculation demonstrated significative difference at the homogeneity of the lung image between the different MAA doses. That leads to the conclusion that there is an increase at the images homogeneity directly related to the number of albumin macroaggregated particles injected, though difference has not been realized by the qualitative analysis.

Os radiofármacos são substâncias que possuem radioisótopos em sua composição. Cerca de 95% dos procedimentos realizados em medicina nuclear faz o uso de radiofármacos com finalidade diagnóstica, sendo os reagentes liofilizados (RL) marcados com Tecnécio-99 meta estável (99mTc), obtido a partir de um gerador de 99Mo/99mTc, os mais utilizados. O controle de qualidade representa o conjunto de ensaios a serem realizados para certificar que o produto é adequado ao propósito. Um aspecto importante a ser avaliado nos radiofármacos de 99mTc é a pureza radioquímica (% PRq) para quantificação de pertecnetato livre (99mTcO4 -) e tecnécio coloidal (99mTcO2), principalmente por cromatografia em papel (CP), em camada delgada (CCD) e cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (CLAE). O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar a comparação das metodologias de controle radioquímico de RL marcados com 99mTc descritas nas farmacopéias americana (FA) e europeia (FE) com aquelas utilizadas no IPEN. O eluído de 99mTcO4 e os RL: DISIDA, DMSA, DTPA, EC, ECD, GHA, MIBI, MDP, PIRO, SAH e Sn Coloidal foram provenientes do IPEN-CNEN/SP. Foram utilizados os suportes cromatográficos TLC-celulose, TLC-SG,TLC-SG fase reversa, HPTLC-celulose e HPTLC-SG da Merck e ITLC-SG da Pall Corporation, W1MM, W3MM, W17M e W31ET da Whatman. A contagem da radioatividade foi feita em contador gama Perkin Elmer modelo Cobra D-5002. A marcação dos RL foi feita de modo a obter concentração radioativa de 55,0 MBq mL-1 (1,5 mCi mL-1). Foram determinadas as %99mTcO4 -, %99mTcO2 e % PRq até 4 horas de marcação. Dos 11 RL, apenas EC e GHA não possuem método de controle radioquímico na FA e FE. Na FA e/ou na FE, os métodos para DTPA, MDP, PIRO, SAH e Sn Coloidal utilizam ITLC-SG; no IPEN, este suporte cromatográfico é utilizado em DISIDA, EC, ECD, GHA, PIRO, MIBI e SAH. Devido à descontinuidade na fabricação de ITLC-SG (recomendado em 40, 70 e 41% das metodologias da FA, FE e IPEN, respectivamente), foi necessário buscar alternativas para sua substituição no controle radioquímico, avaliando-se suportes do tipo HPTLC (celulose e sílica gel) e Whatman (com diferenças de espessura e fluxo de corrida). Os resultados de % PRq determinada pelos métodos descritos na FA, FE, IPEN e os demais sistemas avaliados que apresentaram coeficiente de variação menor que 5% não foi considerada diferença significativa entre os métodos. Os sistemas cromatográficos avaliados neste trabalho podem ser utilizados em substituição ao suporte ITLC-SG. O HPTLC-celulose foi o suporte que apresentou tempo de análise, perfil cromatográfico e custo semelhante ao ITLC-SG, tornando-o um dos suportes mais indicados a ser utilizado como alternativa ao ITLC-SG nos 11 RL avaliados. / Radiopharmaceuticals are substances that have radioisotopes in their composition. About 95% of the procedures performed in nuclear medicine use radiopharmaceuticals with diagnostic pruposes, and the Lyophilized Reagents (LR) labeled with Technetium-99m (99mTc), obtained from 99Mo/99mTc generator, are the most one used. Quality Control represents the set of assays to be performed to assure that the product is adequate to its purpose. An important feature to be evaluated in 99mTc radiopharmaceuticals is the radiochemical purity (% RqP) to quantify free pertechnetate (99mTcO4 -) and technetium colloidal (99mTcO2) mainly by paper chromatography (PC), thin layer (TLC) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The objective of this work was to perfom the comparison among the radiochemical control methodologies of LR labeled with 99mTc, described in the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) and European Pharmacopoeia (EP) and those used by IPEN. 99mTcO4 - eluate and DISIDA, DMSA, DTPA, EC, ECD, GHA, MIBI, MDP, PIRO, SAH and Sn Coloidal LR were provided by IPEN-CNEN/SP. TLC-celulose, TLC-SG,TLC-SG reverse phase, HPTLC-celulose, HPTLC-SG (Merck) and ITLC-SG (Pall Corporation), W1MM, W3MM, W17M e W31ET (Whatman) chromatographic plates were used. The measurement of the radioactivity was done in a Perkin Elmer Cobra D-5002 gamma counter. LR were labeled to obtain 55,0 MBq mL-1 (1,5 mCi mL-1) of final radioactive concentration. The %99mTcO4 -, %99mTcO2 and % RqP were determined up to 4 hour labeling. From 11 LR, only EC and GHA have no radiochemical control methods in USP and EP. In USP and/or EP, DTPA, MDP, PIRO, SAH and Sn Coloidal methods use ITLC-SG; IPEN uses this chromatography plate in DISIDA, EC, ECD, GHA, PIRO, MIBI and SAH. As ITLC-SG had been out of production (recommended in 40, 70 and 41% of the USP, EP and IPEN methodologies, respectively), it was necessary to search alternatives to replace ITLC-SG plate in the radiochemical control, comparing with HPTLC (cellulose and silica gel) and Whatman plates (with thickness and flow rate differences). The % RqP results determined by the methods described in USP, EP, IPEN and the methods evaluated in this work presented coefficient of variation less than 5%, and it was not considered a significant value among the methods. Some chromatographic systems evaluated in this work can be used as replacement to the ITLC-SG plate. HPTLC-cellulose was the plate that presented time of analysis chromatography profile and cost similar to ITLC-SG, making it one of the most indicated to replace ITLC-SG, in 11 LR evaluated.

The main purpose of this thesis is to encourage the development of bioeffect planning as an experimental tool by which means bioeffect plans may be compared with standard isodose plans. This thesis also addresses the fundamental problems of the derivation of useful biological models for clinical application and the description of tumour and normal tissue parameter values and their variability. Particular emphasis has been placed on comparing the predictive value of the models and parameters against clinical results of fractionated and continuous irradiation either alone or combined.

<p>The protection of the unborn child in pregnant women from ionizing radiation is very important because the foetus is particularly sensitive to the effects of radiation. In case of pregnant members of staff working with ionising radiation, the unborn child is treated as a member of the general public, and a dose limit of 1 mSv during pregnancy is applied in order to protect the foetus.</p><p>The purpose of this work was to collect relevant information on exposure conditions and entrance doses of occupationally exposed workers in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine, and to give guidelines on how to estimate foetal doses for pregnant staff in such workplaces.</p><p>With X-ray procedures, an accumulated dose of 2 mSv during pregnancy, measured on the trunk (breast or waist) and behind a lead apron, is sufficient to ensure a foetal dose below 1 mSv. For staff working with nuclear medicine, the corresponding limit is 1.5 mSv taking into account external exposure from 99mTc. When internal contamination cannot be neglected, additional precautions need to be considered.</p>

The protection of the unborn child in pregnant women from ionizing radiation is very important because the foetus is particularly sensitive to the effects of radiation. In case of pregnant members of staff working with ionising radiation, the unborn child is treated as a member of the general public, and a dose limit of 1 mSv during pregnancy is applied in order to protect the foetus. The purpose of this work was to collect relevant information on exposure conditions and entrance doses of occupationally exposed workers in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine, and to give guidelines on how to estimate foetal doses for pregnant staff in such workplaces. With X-ray procedures, an accumulated dose of 2 mSv during pregnancy, measured on the trunk (breast or waist) and behind a lead apron, is sufficient to ensure a foetal dose below 1 mSv. For staff working with nuclear medicine, the corresponding limit is 1.5 mSv taking into account external exposure from 99mTc. When internal contamination cannot be neglected, additional precautions need to be considered.

Since the Canadian nuclear reactor ¡§NRU¡¨ was shut down on 14th May, 2009, the global Moly shortage has occurred for a year. The crisis was not only an impact for the patients of the hospitals in Taiwan, but also decreased the sales and margin profit of the nuclear medicine distributors. The S company, a leading and monopolistical distributor in Taiwan, was no longer reliable for its customers because of the nuclear medicine shortage. Actually it looks like the advantage of the S company is lost and the reputation is damaged. This research is trying to figure out how a nuclear medicine distributor like the S company can pursue some effective supply chain strategies to turn around and keep the growth of profit. AHP is the study method for this research. But at first we¡¦ll plan some strategies and tactics for the nuclear medicine distributors (especial the S company), according to Potters¡¦ competition theory and the resource based view of the firm. And then develop the two levels structure for the AHP study in this research. The factors of upper level are 4 strategies, like ¡§Research & Development Strategy¡¨ etc. The factors of lower level are 18 tactics or plans just like ¡§Try to acquire new technology from the advanced radiopharmaceutical institutes¡¨ etc. The AHP will be performed by surveys of experts¡¦ opinions, including both qualitative and quantitative surveys. Five different groups of experts were sampling and chosen for the surveys. By the AHP, the two most weights of the tactics are determined. They are ¡§Integrate individual (country) procurement into multinational procurement for reducing cost¡¨ and ¡§Actively globalized procurement, and monopolistically securing the sources¡¨. Besides, we can discover more valuable opinions from the qualitative analysis of the expert¡¦s surveys. So the results of this research, the effective and advanced strategies and tactics, are the first securing more reliable sources of the nuclear medicine and the second improving globalized procurement. And then try to enhance marketing and strengthen customer relationship. These will be expected to be helpful on both distributors¡¦ profit and customers¡¦ satisfaction.