Production line of technetium-99m (Tc-99m) isotope generators, used as sources of radioactive tracers for gamma ray scintigraphy in hospital nuclear m

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Production line of technetium-99m (Tc-99m) isotope generators, used as sources of radioactive tracers for gamma ray scintigraphy in hospital nuclear medicine departments. Tc-99m is short lived (its radioactive decay rate, or half-life, is 6 hours), so a generator fuelled by its longer- lived parent isotope, molybdenum- 99 (a fission product of a nuclear reactor) is provided as a continuous, yet short-term source. Here at Amersham International, pre-assembled Amertec II generators await being loaded with radioactive molybdenum (adsorbed onto alumina columns), a process that takes place in the shielded facility at left (behind green windows).

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Size: 5164px × 3389px
Photo credit: © DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: amersham, amertec, assembly, energy, generator, ii, industrial, industry, international, isotope, line, medicine, nuclear, processing, production, radioactive, radioactivity, tc-99m, technetium, technology