How do I know what activity to give when the referring physician has prescribed an absorbed dose to the thyroid?
This calculation must be determined by a qualified individual. It will require uptake measurements at different times after administration of a trace dose of iodine-131., the individual biokinetic data can be determined. The volume of the organ can be estimated using one of several imaging technologies such as a gamma camera or ultrasound. These measurements should provide enough information to determine the activity to administer to the patient in order to reach the prescribed radiation absorbed dose. This is an area of major research activity due to the many imaging technologies and imaging drugs, therefore the most current methods can be found in the literature.
