• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.92-101
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• 2009

Purpose: Scintimammography is one of the screening tests for the early diagnosis of breast cancer. It has been widely accepted as very useful in assessing masses that have not been detected in breast scanning. This method is highly sensitive and specific with respect to the diagnosis of primary and relapsing breast cancer. It has some difficulties, however, in detecting tumors sized 1 cm and below due to the radioactivity around the breast and the geometrical structure of the equipment. The recent introduction of high-resolution Breast-specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI) has made it possible to more accurately discriminate between malignant and benign tumors than with any other test method. Thus, the possibility of an unnecessary biopsy being performed has decreased. The purpose of this study was to examine the diagnostic capacity of mammography, breast sonography, and scintimammography, which are used for the early diagnosis of known breast cancer, and of BSGI, and to evaluate the skillfulness of radiologists. Materials and Methods: The 53 volunteers participants who had no clinical manifestation of breast cancer underwent the BSGI in February 2009. In the BSGI procedure, scanning images were obtained from the craniocaudal projection (CC) and the mediolateral Oblique projection (MLO), as well as from the additional $80{\times}80$-matrix-sized views at various angles in the Present Time method, 10 minutes after the 25 mCi $^{99m}Tc$-MIBI was injected. Results: The results of the BSGI showed that two participants had masses in their breast tissue. As the results of the diagnosis of four participants were not clear, they were retested and the results of the second test were negative. The results of the clinical screening test for breast cancer showed that the sensitivity of BSGI, scintimammography, mammography, and breast sonography was 86.5%, 77.8%, 85~90%, and 66.7%, respectively, and that their specificity was 92.4%, 84.2%, 20~42%, and 68%, respectively. Conclusion: The autodiagnosis and breast cancer screening test are needed for the early diagnosis of breast cancer. It was not easy, however, to accurately determine the presence of a mass in the breast using the existing breast cancer screening test. The patients with unclear test findings were made to undergo a histologic biopsy for a more accurate diagnosis. It is expected that the BSGI can provide useful information for the early diagnosis of breast cancer and of primary breast cancer, and will reduce the performance of unnecessary biopsies because of its higher sensitivity and specificity than existing breast cancer screening tests.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.101-104
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• 2016

Background: To protect the public from natural radioactive materials, the 'Act on safety control of radioactive rays around living environment" was established in Korea. There is an annual effective dose limit of 1 mSv for products, but the activity concentration limit for products is not established yet. Materials and Methods: To suggest the activity concentration limits for consumer goods containing NORM, in this research, we assumed the "small room model" surrounding the ICRP reference phantom to simulate the consumer goods in contact with the human bodies. Using the Monte Carlo code MCNPX, we evaluate the effective dose rate for the ICRP reference phantom in a small room with dimension of phantom size and derived the activity concentration limit for consumer goods. Results and Discussion: The consumer goods have about 1600, 1200 and $19000Bq{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ for $^{226}Ra$, $^{232}Th$ and $^{40}K$, and the activity concentration limits are about six times comparing with the values of building materials. We applied the index to real samples, though we did not consider radioactivity of $^{40}K$, indexes of the some samples are more than 6. However, this index concept using small room model is very conservative, for the consumer goods over than index 6, it is necessary to reevaluate the absorbed dose considering real usage scenario and material characteristics. Conclusion: In this research, we derived activity concentration limits for consumer goods in contact with bodies and the results can be used as preliminary screening tool for consumer goods as index concept.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.21-39
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• 1972

The employment of gamma-ray scintillation camera with the use of short-lived radioisotopic pharmaceuticals, sucu as $^{99m}Tc$ sodium pertechnetate, have enabled us to perform RI (radioisotopic) angiocardiography. Although conventional cardiac catheterization or angiocardiography using contrast media have been an important diagnostic tool, they may carry some risks or serious complications. The author investigated on RI angiocardiography in twelve normal and twenty five patients with cardiovascular diseases in an effort to evaluate its diagnostic value. The results obtained with this study are as follows; 1. In normal subjects, the scintillation camera transit time of arm-to-right heart was found to be $2.1{\pm}0.67$ seconds, right heart-to-lung $1.5{\pm}0.40$ seconds and lung-to-left heart $3.5{\pm}0.86$ seconds. 2. Transformation or displacement of the heart and the great vessel are easily discriminated by RI angiocardiography. Both in the cases with tricuspid atresia and tetralogy of Fallot, ventricular septal defects are well recongnized by sequential RI angiocardiography. 3. It is also helpful in determinining the site and extent of obstruction, and estimatiing the postoperative course both in the cases with superior vena cava syndrome and pulmonary stenosis. 4. Pericarditis with effusion is readilly diagnosed by RI angiocardiogram showing characteristic "dead space" between intracardiac and intrapulmonary radioactivity. 5. It was found that the diagnostic accuracy of this study was 78.4%. It is concluded that above results obtained are useful and accurate enough for the diagnostic screening methode for clinical practice.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.96-102
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• 2014

Urine bioassay has been widely used for internal dosimetry due to simple process of sampling and measurement. In this paper, we participated in the NRIP (NIST Radiochemistry Intercomparison Program) hosted by US NIST to carry out a reliable performance test of urine bioassay and introduced the measurement method and results of NRIP-2013. In customary exercise with 60 days of reporting time, bioassay results of 12 radionuclides in the synthetic urine samples were acceptable based on the performance criteria of ANSI N13.30. In emergency preparedness exercise with 8 hours of reporting time, bioassay results of 9 radionuclides showed that differences ranged from -35% to 45%. However, we concluded that urine bioassay applied for emergency preparedness exercise would be applicable for rapid screening and estimation of internal exposure within a difference of ${\pm}45%$ in the event of radiological accidents.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.234-243
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• 2021

In the research or project planning for the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant, one of several preparations will be the establishment of a list of potential radionuclides to be considered at the time of characterization or final status surveys. Reliable data for selection of potential radionuclides during the transition period to prepare for decommissioning will depend heavily on historical data at the site or, where possible, sampling analysis. However, during the transition period, direct sampling can be challenging, depending on the circumstances of the site or national regulation. A methodology of selecting potential radionuclides for nuclear facility sites which largely consists of three major processes: production of initial list of radionuclides, selection of the insignificant radionuclide that will be eliminated, and consideration of site characterization or sampling. For developing a preliminary list of potential radionuclides for Kori Unit 1 decommissioning, the list of initial radionuclides was made referring to the technical documents applied at decommissioned NPPs in the U.S and additional reference materials applied until the operation of NPPs in Korea. For the screening of insignificant radionuclides, we applied criterion of less than 0.1% of the amount of radioactivity inventory and confirmed the dose fraction using the RESRAD code. The final suit of radionuclides was established, which should be supplemented by reflecting site characterization and sampling process in the future. Thus, the methodology and results for the selection of potential radionuclides suggested in this paper can give an insight as a future reference to deriving DCGLs in relation to site remediation of decommissioning nuclear plants.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.20 no.2 s.47
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• pp.117-121
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• 1981

The screening method of varietal resistance on the plant hoppers has generally been evaluated as a reaction of plant after infesting insects. However, feeding amount of insects to the varieties was investigated in this experiment. The new method using isotope $^{32}P$ for rice varietal resistance to plant hoppers was carried out through the following method. Insects tested were caged for a few hours on the plants which had absorbed $^{32}P$ solution in small vials for $24\~48\;hours$. After feeding, insects were killed in the refrigerator with formalin solution, and then were measured by the feeding amount as a count per minute (CPM) with the G.M. Counter. The results obtained were summarized as follows; 1. The apparatus of Type D(Fig. 2) was most effective and the safest among four others. 2. The optimum amount of $H_3PO_4$ solution was found to be $2\~3m1$. 3. Radioactivity of $0.7\mu\;Ci.\;^{32}P$ was sufficient to check varietal difference of feeding amount by the brown planthopper. 4. Radioisotope was found from the body of insects but not in the cuticular layer nymphs cast off.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.211-215
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• 2015

In case of radiation emergencies, radioactive materials released into environments can cause internal exposure of members of the public. Even though whole body counters are widely used for direct measurement of internally deposited radionuclides, those are not likely to be used at the field to rapidly screen internal exposure. In this study, we estimated the counting efficiencies of portable NaI detector for different size BOMAB phantoms using Monte Carlo transport code to apply handheld gamma spectrometers for rapid screening of internal exposure following radiological accidents. As a result of comparison for two counting geometries, counting efficiencies for sitting model were about 1.1 times higher than those for standing model. We found, however, that differences of counting efficiencies according to different size are higher than those according to counting geometry. Therefore, we concluded that when we assess internal exposure of small size people compared to the reference male, the body size should be considered to estimate more accurate radioactivity in the human body because counting efficiencies of 4-year old BOMAB phantom were about 2.4~3.1 times higher than those of reference male BOMAB phantom.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.18 no.2_spc
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• pp.227-235
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• 2020

In this study, we discussed the limitations of gross alpha measurements for the characterization of radioactive wastes produced in nuclear facilities through experimental tests and Monte Carlo N-particle transport simulations. The determination of gross alpha is essential for the disposal of radioactive waste produced in nuclear facilities in Korea. The measurements of gross alpha are easy to perform and yield rapid analytical results, but it cannot be used for quantitative analysis. The error of counting efficiency for gross alpha with various masses of the deposit on planchets using KCl and ²⁴¹Am was determined. The relative deviation of the counting efficiency in samples having the same mass was 20%. Uranium was extracted from the soil through acid leaching and extraction chromatography, and the concentration of U determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was compared with the results for gross alpha. The gross alpha was underestimated by 50% compared to the U concentration by ICP-MS. The counting efficiency depended on the energy from the alpha emitters, which differed by up to three times in determination of the counting efficiency depending on the kinds of alpha radionuclides of interest. Therefore, the gross alpha is not compatible with the sum of radioactivity for each alpha emitter and is suitable as a screening method.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.21-34
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• 1976

The diagnosis of iron deficiency rests upon the correct evaluation of body iron stores. Morphological interpretation of blood film and the red cell indices are not reliable and often absent in mild iron deficiency. Serum iron levels and iron-binding capacity are more sensitive indices of iron deficiency, but they are often normal in iron depletion and mild iron deficiency anemia. They are also subject to many variables which may introduce substantial errors and influenced by many pathologic and physiologic states. Examination of the bone marrow aspirate for stainable iron has been regarded as one of the most sensitive and reliable diagnostic method for detecting iron deficiency, but this also has limitations. Thus, there is still need for a more practical, but sensitive and reliable substitute as a screening test of iron deficiency. Pollack et al. (1965) observed that the intestinal absorption of cobalt was raised in iron-deficient rats and Valberg et al. (1969) found that cobalt absorption was elevated in patients with iron deficiency. A direct correlation was demonstrated between the amounts of radioiron and radiocobalt absorbed. Unlike iron, excess cobalt was excreted by the kidney, the percentage of radioactivity in the urine being directly related to the percentage absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Recently a test based on the urinary excretion of an oral dose of $^{57}Co$ has been proposed as a method for detecting iron deficiency. To assess the diagnostic value of urinary cobalt excretion test cobaltous chloride labelled with $1{\mu}Ci\;of\;^{58}Co$ was given by mouth and the percentage of the test dose excreted in the urine was measured by a gamma counter. The mean 24 hour urinary cobalt excretion in control subjects with normal iron stores was 6.1% ($1.9{\sim}15.2%$). Cobalt excretion was markedly increased in patients with iron deficiency and excreted more than 29% of the dose. In contrast, patients with anemia due to causes other than iron deficiency excreted less than 27%. Hence, 24 hour urinary cobalt excretion of 27% or less in a patient with anemia suggets that the primary cause of the anemia is not iron deficiency. A value greater than 27% in an anemic subject suggests that the anemia is caused by iron deficiency. The cobalt excretion test is a simple, sensitive and accurate method for the assessment of body iron stores. It may be particularly valuable in the epidemiological studies of iron deficiency and repeated evaluations of the body iron stores.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.13-27
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• 2017

Purpose In the procedure of domestic medical radioactive self-disposal, there are many requests of supplementation and difficulties on the screening process. In this regard, presentation of basic guideline will improve the work processing efficiency of medical institution radioactive waste. From 2015 to 2016, We reviewed and compared a supplementary requests of domestic fifteen medical institution radioactive self-disposal Plan & Procedure manual. In connection with this, we derive the details of the radioactive waste document based on the relative regulation of nuclear safety Act. The representative supplementary requests of Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety are disposal method of non-flammability radioactive waste, storage method of scheduled self-disposal waste, the legitimacy of self-disposal and pre-treatment of self-disposal, reference radioactivity of disused filter and output of storage period, attachment the evidential matter of measurement efficiency when using a gamma counter. Through establishing a medical radioactive waste guideline, we can clearly suggest a classification standard of radioactive nuclide and the type of occurrence. As a result, we can confirm the reduction of examination processing period while preparing a self-disposal document and there is no spending expenses for business agency. Also, the storage efficiency of facility will better and reduce the economic expenses. On the basis of this guideline, we will expect a contribution to the improvement of work efficiency for officials who has a working-level difficulty of radioactive waste self-disposal.