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PET scans safety
PET scanning is invasive, in that radioactive material is injected
into the subject. However the total dose of radiation is small,
usually around 7 mSv. This can be compared to 2.2 mSv average annual
background radiation in the UK, 0.02 mSv for a chest X-Ray, up to
8 mSv for a CT scan of the chest, 2-6 mSv per annum for aircrew,
and 7.8 mSv per annum background exposure in Cornwall (Data from
UK National Radiological Protection Board).
Because the half-life of 18F is about two hours, the
prepared doses decay significantly during the working day. If the
FDG is delivered to the scanning suite in the morning, the specific
activity falls during the day, and a relatively larger volume of
radiopharmaceutical must be injected in later patients to deliver
the same radioactive dose.
The radioactive dose to the patient is small, however
the dose to the operators is a limiting factor in the operation
of a PET facility.
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