Technetium-99m

Technetium-99m is a metastable nuclear isomer that decays to technetium-99 while emitting gamma rays. Its short half-life and useful photon energy make it the most widely used radionuclide in diagnostic nuclear medicine.

Nuclear isomer: An excited nuclear state with the same proton and neutron numbers as a lower-energy state. Technetium-99m is a long-lived excited state of technetium-99.
Technetium-99m sestamibi: A technetium-99m radiopharmaceutical used chiefly to image heart muscle and certain tumors. It shows how technetium-99m can assess myocardial blood flow.
Technetium: The chemical element with atomic number 43, whose isotopes are all radioactive. Technetium-99m is one isotope of this element.
Fluorine-18: A positron-emitting radioactive isotope widely used in positron emission tomography. It supports PET imaging, whereas technetium-99m is commonly detected with gamma cameras.
Isomeric transition: A nuclear decay in which an excited nucleus releases energy, usually as a gamma ray, without changing its proton or neutron numbers. This transition carries technetium-99m into its lower-energy technetium-99 state.
Technetium-99m MDP: A technetium-99m-labeled bone-seeking compound used for skeletal scintigraphy. Its uptake reveals bone remodeling throughout the skeleton.
Technetium-99m generator: A device that elutes technetium-99m from its longer-lived parent molybdenum-99. Generators made technetium-99m available at hospitals without nearby reactors.
Iodine-123: A gamma-emitting iodine isotope used in diagnostic imaging, especially of the thyroid. It can image thyroid function without technetium-99m pertechnetate's different tissue distribution.
Gamma camera: An imaging instrument that detects gamma photons and maps their distribution inside the body. It detects photons emitted by technetium-99m in the patient.
Technetium-99m pertechnetate: A soluble technetium-99m ion used to image tissues that concentrate or secrete pertechnetate. It supports imaging of the thyroid, salivary glands, and other tissues.

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