Radionuclide Calibrator

In a nuclear medicine procedure, a patient receives a specified activity of a radionuclide (most commonly a gamma-emitting radionuclide) for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. It is essential that the activity given to the patient is well-known. The principal instrument used to measure the activity of a radioactive source used in medicine is the radionuclide calibrator.

This course has been designed to support the effective use of radionuclide calibrators in a clinical setting. It teaches learners the right skills and strategies to use when operating them, and provides a methodological approach when implementing quality assurance tasks and identifying sources of uncertainty. More specifically, this course will help learners:

To maximise the accuracy of activity measurements in hospitals, leading to better outcomes for patients
To help meet nuclear medicine competencies, and thus comply with regulations
To improve quality assurance processes, leading to increased confidence in radionuclide calibrator performance
To improve assessment of processes and outcomes, through enhanced understanding of measurement uncertainty

This course consists of four modules:

Module 1: How a radionuclide calibrator works
Module 2: Derivation of calibration factors and dial settings for radionuclide calibrators
Module 3: Quality assurance for radionuclide calibrators
Module 4: Uncertainty for radionuclide calibrators

Learners who successfully complete the course and assessments will receive an NPL Certificate of Completion.

Learning Outcomes

Understand the operation of a radionuclide calibrator and its constituent parts
Understand the term calibration factor
Explain the factors affecting the response of an ionisation chamber
Use the specifications of a range of radionuclide calibrators to recommend the most appropriate in a given situation
Understand the importance of traceability to activity measurement
Understand the calibration of secondary standard radionuclide calibrators against primary standards, and field instruments against reference instruments
Use a range of strategies to derive calibration factors and dial settings, taking into account the geometries of source and chamber
Use copper filters appropriately in the measurement of beta-emitters and low-energy gamma emitters
Be able to perform a range of acceptance and Quality Assurance tests, including linearity, repeatability and accuracy
Identify the main sources of uncertainty in radionuclide calibrator measurements
Evaluate measurement uncertainty in a given situation for a radionuclide calibrator