| Nuclear Facts | |
What is the radiation dose from an airport scanner? Not much. Only 10 urem/scan = .01 mrem (effective dose, mainly skin dose). This is equivalent to flying two minutes at 30,000 feet. It would take 1000 TSA scans to equal 1 chest x-ray.
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Case of the Month |
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| Nuclear Pharmacy eNewsletter |
Dear
Nuclear Medicine Professional,
The nuclear community offers our prayers and support to the victims of the disasters in Japan, including the unfolding catastrophic events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This week I have been asked several radiation questions from my friends and co-workers. It is a good chance to help sort out the fact from the fiction that is sometimes presented in the media. |
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Nuclear Meltdown
News reports from Japan
have reported the release of radioactivity from the damaged nuclear reactors
that have caused evacuations of the surrounding areas. In the event of a
large scale meltdown, some of the isotopes and half-lives that may
contaminate the area are I-131 (8 days), Cs-137 (30 yrs), Co-60 (5.3 yrs),
Tritium (12.3 yrs) and Pu-240. The nuclear plant operators have been called
heroic for their efforts to battle the situation facing exposure levels of
400 mSv per hour. See
Robert Atcher's comments concerning the impact of the crisis in Japan on
the domestic production of medical isotopes and more information on
radiation emergencies. |
DaTscan Approved as C-II 
Because Ioflupane is a derivative of cocaine, it was automatically listed as a
C-II drug. However, you would have to inject about 60 liters of the drug to get
a high. GE Healthcare has submitted a request to the FDA to
de-schedule this product since the abuse potential is virtually non-existent. GE
is in the process of getting C-II licenses for all their pharmacies. Until FDA
de-schedules DaTscan, it will be exclusive to GE pharmacies or can be ordered
directing from GE customer service. However, a physician must place the order
on a DEA form 222. It is also required that sites have a camera set-up completed
by an applications specialist. It will be good to have a diagnostic study to
differentiate between tremor disorders once we get past the initial hurdles. |
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APhA Meeting and Awards
We look
forward to catching up with many of you at the upcoming APhA meeting in
Seattle. Great city, continuing education, and networking
opportunities! For a list of nuclear pharmacy events
click here.
Congratulations to
the following colleagues that will be recognized for their contributions to
pharmacy practice Kristina Wittstrom will be recognized
with the William H. Briner Distinguished Achievement Award in Nuclear
Pharmacy Practice, and Brigette Nelson and Rich Fejka will
be named a Fellow of APhA. Congratulations on these much deserved
honors!
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Calendar of Events
| March 25-28 | APhA Annual Meeting, Seattle WA | | March 25-27 | Central Chapter - SNM Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL | | April 1-3 | Southwest Chapter SNM 56th Annual Meeting, Oklahoma City, OK |
- April 8 3:00 pm ET
| SNM Webinar: The Science of FLT | | April 8-10 | 41st Annual Spring Meeting, Mid-Eastern Chapter, Ocean City, MD | | April 15-16 | SNM New England Chapter Spring Meeting, Springfield, MA | | April 20 | SNM Webinar: Preclinical and Clinical Imaging for Drug Development | | June 4-8 | SNM 58th Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX |
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 Nicki Hilliard, PharmD, BCNP Nuclear Education Online
Phone: 501-686-6398
email: NLHilliard@uams.edu
www.nuclearonline.org |
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