What information is needed to calculate absorbed dose of a radionuclide inside the body?
Calculating the absorbed dose from a radionuclide inside the body is complex since it involves both the physics of radioactive decay and the biology of the body’s metabolism. Six important factors that must be considered are these: • The amount of the radionuclide administered. • The type of radiation emitted during the decay process. • The physical half-life of the radionuclide. • The chemical form of the radionuclide. • The fraction of the radionuclide that accumulates in each organ. • The length of time that the radionuclide remains in the organ (the biological half-life).
