Standardization of 18F by Digital beta(LS)-gamma Coincidence Counting

TL;DR

This paper presents a new digital coincidence counting method for standardizing the short-lived nuclide 18F, demonstrating improved accuracy and consistency with existing techniques in nuclear medicine applications.

Contribution

It introduces a digital beta(LS)-gamma coincidence counting technique for 18F standardization, combining LSC and digital methods for better precision.

Findings

Good consistency with 4Pi gamma and LSC techniques

Low uncertainties achieved in 18F measurement

Effective for short-lived radionuclide standardization

Abstract

The nuclide 18F disintegrates to 18O by beta+ emission (96.86%) and electron capture (3.14%) with a half-life of 1.8288 h. It is widely used in nuclear medicine for positron emission tomography (PET). Because of its short half-life this nuclide requires the development of fast measuring methods to be standardized. The combination of LSC methods with digital techniques proves to be a good alternative to get low uncertainties for this, and other, short lived nuclides. A radioactive solution of 18F has been standardized by coincidence counting with a LSC, using the logical sum of double coincidences in a TDCR array and a NaI scintillation detector. The results show good consistency with other techniques like 4Pi gamma and LSC.