RadioGraphics, Vol 9, 1189-1202, Copyright © 1989 by Radiological Society of North America
Nuclear medicine from Becquerel to the present
LS Graham, JG Kereiakes, C Harris and MB Cohen
VA Medical Center/UCLA, Nuclear Medical Service, Sepulveda 91343.
During a period of a little over ninety years, the use of radioactive
materials has moved from the discovery of natural radioactivity by
Becquerel to the use of highly sophisticated equipment for in-house
production of biologically important molecules labeled with radionuclides,
for the measurement of body functions. Radiation detectors have progressed
from photographic plates and the gold leaf electroscope to the routine use
of improved scintillation detectors for imaging the three-dimensional
distribution of radioactive materials in the body as a function of space
and time. It is expected that future improvements will be along the line of
instruments with better spatial resolution, contrast, and sensitivity.
Advances in hardware and software will be more than matched by developments
in radiopharmaceuticals, including the use of monoclonal antibodies and
receptor mapping agents which promise the exquisite specificity and
sensitivity of radioimmunoassay procedures.
