| title |
Germanium-68/Gallium-68 |
| header |
| teaser |
/assets/images/spectra-th/Ge-68_Ga-68.png |
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| last_modified_at |
2022-08-08 13:45:00 +0200 |
A germanium-68/gallium-68 generator is a device used to extract the positron-emitting isotope 68Ga of gallium from a source of decaying germanium-68. The parent isotope 68Ge has a half-life of 271 days and can be easily utilized for in-hospital production of generator produced 68Ga. Its decay product gallium-68 (with a half-life of only 68 minutes, inconvenient for transport) is extracted and used for certain positron emission tomography nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures, where the radioisotope's relatively short half-life and emission of positrons for creation of 3-dimensional PET scans, are useful.
This is not actually a gamma emitter. Since it is used most commonly in PET scanning, the peak in this spectrum is corresponding to the rest energy of the electron or positron (electron-positron annihilation peak) at ~511 keV.
<iframe width="100%" height="500" src="/assets/spectra/Ge-68_Ga-68.html" title="Ge-68/Ga-68 gamma spectrum" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
5 minute measurement with a High Purity Germanium (HPGe) radiation detector.
| Isotope: |
Germanium |
| Mass number: |
68 |
| Atomic number: |
32 |
| Neutron number: |
36 |
| ... |
... |
| Isotope: |
Gallium |
| Mass number: |
68 |
| Atomic number: |
31 |
| Neutron number: |
37 |
| ... |
... |