Radiation Safety in Nuclear Medicine: A Practical, Concise Guide

This new edition is a fully updated guide to radiation safety practice for nuclear medicine professionals, and assists the nuclear medicine technologists in taking their board certifying examination. The NRC requires the appointment of a radiation safety officer (RSO) or an associate radiation safety officer (ARSO) for different uses of radioactive material. Board certified nuclear medicine technologists are eligible to be RSO and ARSO in specific uses of radioactive material after successfully completing a 40-hr or 200-hr course on radiation safety depending on the type of RAM use. This book covers all subject materials in these courses on radiation safety.

This guide provides ready-made, handy information on radiation safety as required in the practice of nuclear medicine, presented in a concise form for easy understanding and quick reference related to a given situation and/or incident. The major change in the new edition of the book is the addition of questions at the end of each chapter, to ensure the comprehension of the material by the examinees taking their certifying board examinations. As mentioned in the first edition, the NRC 10CFR20 for Standards for Radiation Protection and the NRC 10CFR35 for Medical Uses of Radioactive Materials are the primary sources of practical information on radiation safety in nuclear medicine. Much of the information is still valid, but many changes and additions have also been made since, which are fully updated here.

This is an ideal reference for nuclear medicine physicians, nuclear medicine technologists, and researchers using radioactive materials.

Gopal Saha, PhD, joined the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Cleveland Clinic as Director of Nuclear Chemistry and Pharmacy in 1984. He established a nuclear pharmacy laboratory with full amenities for routine clinical studies and sponsored clinical trials, which has been highly acclaimed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. He is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement (Basic Science) Award of the Indo-American Society of Nuclear Medicine and the Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Oration Award of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, India. He was the President of the American Board of Sciences in Nuclear Medicine in 2000 and 2004. He is a prolific Springer author, with titles: Fundamentals of Nuclear Pharmacy, 7e; Physics and Radiobiology of Nuclear Medicine, 4e; and Basics of PET Imaging, 3e.