Discrete concentrations of energy, apparently massless elementary particles, that move at the speed of light. They are the unit or quantum of electromagnetic radiation. Photons are emitted when electrons move from one energy state to another. (From Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 11th ed)

A method of computed tomography that uses radionuclides which emit a single photon of a given energy. The camera is rotated 180 or 360 degrees around the patient to capture images at multiple positions along the arc. The computer is then used to reconstruct the transaxial, sagittal, and coronal images from the 3-dimensional distribution of radionuclides in the organ. The advantages of SPECT are that it can be used to observe biochemical and physiological processes as well as size and volume of the organ. The disadvantage is that, unlike positron-emission tomography where the positron-electron annihilation results in the emission of 2 photons at 180 degrees from each other, SPECT requires physical collimation to line up the photons, which results in the loss of many available photons and hence degrades the image.

Individual components of atoms, usually subatomic; subnuclear particles are usually detected only when the atomic nucleus decays and then only transiently, as most of them are unstable, often yielding pure energy without substance, i.e., radiation.

The diversion of RADIATION (thermal, electromagnetic, or nuclear) from its original path as a result of interactions or collisions with atoms, molecules, or larger particles in the atmosphere or other media. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

The measurement of radiation by photography, as in x-ray film and film badge, by Geiger-Mueller tube, and by SCINTILLATION COUNTING.

Devices or objects in various imaging techniques used to visualize or enhance visualization by simulating conditions encountered in the procedure. Phantoms are used very often in procedures employing or measuring x-irradiation or radioactive material to evaluate performance. Phantoms often have properties similar to human tissue. Water demonstrates absorbing properties similar to normal tissue, hence water-filled phantoms are used to map radiation levels. Phantoms are used also as teaching aids to simulate real conditions with x-ray or ultrasonic machines. (From Iturralde, Dictionary and Handbook of Nuclear Medicine and Clinical Imaging, 1990)

That portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared range.

In statistics, a technique for numerically approximating the solution of a mathematical problem by studying the distribution of some random variable, often generated by a computer. The name alludes to the randomness characteristic of the games of chance played at the gambling casinos in Monte Carlo. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, 1993)

Detection and counting of scintillations produced in a fluorescent material by ionizing radiation.

Fluorescence microscopy utilizing multiple low-energy photons to produce the excitation event of the fluorophore. Multiphoton microscopes have a simplified optical path in the emission side due to the lack of an emission pinhole, which is necessary with normal confocal microscopes. Ultimately this allows spatial isolation of the excitation event, enabling deeper imaging into optically thick tissue, while restricting photobleaching and phototoxicity to the area being imaged.

Organic compounds that contain technetium as an integral part of the molecule. These compounds are often used as radionuclide imaging agents.

Devices which accelerate electrically charged atomic or subatomic particles, such as electrons, protons or ions, to high velocities so they have high kinetic energy.

The amount of radiation energy that is deposited in a unit mass of material, such as tissues of plants or animal. In RADIOTHERAPY, radiation dosage is expressed in gray units (Gy). In RADIOLOGIC HEALTH, the dosage is expressed by the product of absorbed dose (Gy) and quality factor (a function of linear energy transfer), and is called radiation dose equivalent in sievert units (Sv).

Compounds that are used in medicine as sources of radiation for radiotherapy and for diagnostic purposes. They have numerous uses in research and industry. (Martindale, The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 30th ed, p1161)

A gamma-emitting RADIONUCLIDE IMAGING agent used in the evaluation of regional cerebral blood flow and in non-invasive dynamic biodistribution studies and MYOCARDIAL PERFUSION IMAGING. It has also been used to label leukocytes in the investigation of INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES.

Unstable isotopes of thallium that decay or disintegrate emitting radiation. Tl atoms with atomic weights 198-202, 204, and 206-210 are thallium radioisotopes.

The first artificially produced element and a radioactive fission product of URANIUM. Technetium has the atomic symbol Tc, atomic number 43, and atomic weight 98.91. All technetium isotopes are radioactive. Technetium 99m (m=metastable) which is the decay product of Molybdenum 99, has a half-life of about 6 hours and is used diagnostically as a radioactive imaging agent. Technetium 99 which is a decay product of technetium 99m, has a half-life of 210,000 years.

Tomography using radioactive emissions from injected RADIONUCLIDES and computer ALGORITHMS to reconstruct an image.

Compounds that contain the radical R2C=N.OH derived from condensation of ALDEHYDES or KETONES with HYDROXYLAMINE. Members of this group are CHOLINESTERASE REACTIVATORS.

The evaluation of incidents involving the loss of function of a device. These evaluations are used for a variety of purposes such as to determine the failure rates, the causes of failures, costs of failures, and the reliability and maintainability of devices.

Computer-assisted mathematical calculations of beam angles, intensities of radiation, and duration of irradiation in radiotherapy.

The ratio of radiation dosages required to produce identical change based on a formula comparing other types of radiation with that of gamma or roentgen rays.

Methods of creating machines and devices.

Tellurium. An element that is a member of the chalcogen family. It has the atomic symbol Te, atomic number 52, and atomic weight 127.60. It has been used as a coloring agent and in the manufacture of electrical equipment. Exposure may cause nausea, vomiting, and CNS depression.

Radiotherapy using high-energy (megavolt or higher) ionizing radiation. Types of radiation include gamma rays, produced by a radioisotope within a teletherapy unit; x-rays, electrons, protons, alpha particles (helium ions) and heavy charged ions, produced by particle acceleration; and neutrons and pi-mesons (pions), produced as secondary particles following bombardment of a target with a primary particle.

The total amount of radiation absorbed by tissues as a result of radiotherapy.

Unstable isotopes of iodine that decay or disintegrate emitting radiation. I atoms with atomic weights 117-139, except I 127, are radioactive iodine isotopes.

Projection of near-IR light (INFRARED RAYS), in the 700-1000 nm region, across an object in parallel beams to an array of sensitive photodetectors. This is repeated at various angles and a mathematical reconstruction provides three dimensional MEDICAL IMAGING of tissues. Based on the relative transparency of tissues to this spectra, it has been used to monitor local oxygenation, brain and joints.

The use of an external beam of PROTONS as radiotherapy.

Materials that have a limited and usually variable electrical conductivity. They are particularly useful for the production of solid-state electronic devices.

Behavior of LIGHT and its interactions with itself and materials.

A specialized field of physics and engineering involved in studying the behavior and properties of light and the technology of analyzing, generating, transmitting, and manipulating ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION in the visible, infrared, and ultraviolet range.

Electronic instruments that produce photographs or cathode-ray tube images of the gamma-ray emissions from organs containing radionuclide tracers.

An optical source that emits photons in a coherent beam. Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (LASER) is brought about using devices that transform light of varying frequencies into a single intense, nearly nondivergent beam of monochromatic radiation. Lasers operate in the infrared, visible, ultraviolet, or X-ray regions of the spectrum.

Measurement of the various properties of light.

Isotopes that exhibit radioactivity and undergo radioactive decay. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed & McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

An amphetamine analog that is rapidly taken up by the lungs and from there redistributed primarily to the brain and liver. It is used in brain radionuclide scanning with I-123.

Emission or propagation of acoustic waves (SOUND), ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY waves (such as LIGHT; RADIO WAVES; GAMMA RAYS; or X-RAYS), or a stream of subatomic particles (such as ELECTRONS; NEUTRONS; PROTONS; or ALPHA PARTICLES).

The relationship between the dose of administered radiation and the response of the organism or tissue to the radiation.

Stable elementary particles having the smallest known negative charge, present in all elements; also called negatrons. Positively charged electrons are called positrons. The numbers, energies and arrangement of electrons around atomic nuclei determine the chemical identities of elements. Beams of electrons are called CATHODE RAYS.

Determination of the energy distribution of gamma rays emitted by nuclei. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

A technique of inputting two-dimensional images into a computer and then enhancing or analyzing the imagery into a form that is more useful to the human observer.

Techniques used for determining the values of photometric parameters of light resulting from LUMINESCENCE.

Lutetium. An element of the rare earth family of metals. It has the atomic symbol Lu, atomic number 71, and atomic weight 175.

Inorganic compounds that contain cadmium as an integral part of the molecule.

Devices for accelerating protons or electrons in closed orbits where the accelerating voltage and magnetic field strength varies (the accelerating voltage is held constant for electrons) in order to keep the orbit radius constant.

Any visual display of structural or functional patterns of organs or tissues for diagnostic evaluation. It includes measuring physiologic and metabolic responses to physical and chemical stimuli, as well as ultramicroscopy.

Photosensitive afferent neurons located in the peripheral retina, with their density increases radially away from the FOVEA CENTRALIS. Being much more sensitive to light than the RETINAL CONE CELLS, the rod cells are responsible for twilight vision (at scotopic intensities) as well as peripheral vision, but provide no color discrimination.

The use of a heavy ion particle beam for radiotherapy, such as the HEAVY IONS of CARBON.

The theory that the radiation and absorption of energy take place in definite quantities called quanta (E) which vary in size and are defined by the equation E=hv in which h is Planck's constant and v is the frequency of the radiation.

An imaging technique using compounds labelled with short-lived positron-emitting radionuclides (such as carbon-11, nitrogen-13, oxygen-15 and fluorine-18) to measure cell metabolism. It has been useful in study of soft tissues such as CANCER; CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM; and brain. SINGLE-PHOTON EMISSION-COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY is closely related to positron emission tomography, but uses isotopes with longer half-lives and resolution is lower.

A purplish-red, light-sensitive pigment found in RETINAL ROD CELLS of most vertebrates. It is a complex consisting of a molecule of ROD OPSIN and a molecule of 11-cis retinal (RETINALDEHYDE). Rhodopsin exhibits peak absorption wavelength at about 500 nm.

The production of an image obtained by cameras that detect the radioactive emissions of an injected radionuclide as it has distributed differentially throughout tissues in the body. The image obtained from a moving detector is called a scan, while the image obtained from a stationary camera device is called a scintiphotograph.

A heavy, bluish white metal, atomic number 81, atomic weight [204.382; 204.385], symbol Tl.

Emission of LIGHT when ELECTRONS return to the electronic ground state from an excited state and lose the energy as PHOTONS. It is sometimes called cool light in contrast to INCANDESCENCE. LUMINESCENT MEASUREMENTS take advantage of this type of light emitted from LUMINESCENT AGENTS.

Computer-based representation of physical systems and phenomena such as chemical processes.

Unstable isotopes of xenon that decay or disintegrate emitting radiation. Xe atoms with atomic weights 121-123, 125, 127, 133, 135, 137-145 are radioactive xenon isotopes.

Rate of energy dissipation along the path of charged particles. In radiobiology and health physics, exposure is measured in kiloelectron volts per micrometer of tissue (keV/micrometer T).

Penetrating electromagnetic radiation emitted when the inner orbital electrons of an atom are excited and release radiant energy. X-ray wavelengths range from 1 pm to 10 nm. Hard X-rays are the higher energy, shorter wavelength X-rays. Soft x-rays or Grenz rays are less energetic and longer in wavelength. The short wavelength end of the X-ray spectrum overlaps the GAMMA RAYS wavelength range. The distinction between gamma rays and X-rays is based on their radiation source.

The measurement of the amplitude of the components of a complex waveform throughout the frequency range of the waveform. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

A technetium imaging agent used to reveal blood-starved cardiac tissue during a heart attack.

Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

CONFORMAL RADIOTHERAPY that combines several intensity-modulated beams to provide improved dose homogeneity and highly conformal dose distributions.

The process in which light signals are transformed by the PHOTORECEPTOR CELLS into electrical signals which can then be transmitted to the brain.

A radionuclide imaging agent used primarily in scintigraphy or tomography of the heart to evaluate the extent of the necrotic myocardial process. It has also been used in noninvasive tests for the distribution of organ involvement in different types of amyloidosis and for the evaluation of muscle necrosis in the extremities.

Specialized cells that detect and transduce light. They are classified into two types based on their light reception structure, the ciliary photoreceptors and the rhabdomeric photoreceptors with MICROVILLI. Ciliary photoreceptor cells use OPSINS that activate a PHOSPHODIESTERASE phosphodiesterase cascade. Rhabdomeric photoreceptor cells use opsins that activate a PHOSPHOLIPASE C cascade.

The synthesis by organisms of organic chemical compounds, especially carbohydrates, from carbon dioxide using energy obtained from light rather than from the oxidation of chemical compounds. Photosynthesis comprises two separate processes: the light reactions and the dark reactions. In higher plants; GREEN ALGAE; and CYANOBACTERIA; NADPH and ATP formed by the light reactions drive the dark reactions which result in the fixation of carbon dioxide. (from Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2001)

'Iodobenzenes' are aromatic organic compounds consisting of a benzene ring substituted with an iodine atom (I), typically represented by the chemical formula C6H5I.

Electrically neutral elementary particles found in all atomic nuclei except light hydrogen; the mass is equal to that of the proton and electron combined and they are unstable when isolated from the nucleus, undergoing beta decay. Slow, thermal, epithermal, and fast neutrons refer to the energy levels with which the neutrons are ejected from heavier nuclei during their decay.

The property of emitting radiation while being irradiated. The radiation emitted is usually of longer wavelength than that incident or absorbed, e.g., a substance can be irradiated with invisible radiation and emit visible light. X-ray fluorescence is used in diagnosis.

Medical treatment involving the use of controlled amounts of X-Rays.

Tomography using x-ray transmission and a computer algorithm to reconstruct the image.

The use of computers for designing and/or manufacturing of anything, including drugs, surgical procedures, orthotics, and prosthetics.

The circulation of blood through the BLOOD VESSELS of the BRAIN.

Radiotherapy where there is improved dose homogeneity within the tumor and reduced dosage to uninvolved structures. The precise shaping of dose distribution is achieved via the use of computer-controlled multileaf collimators.

The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results.

A procedure consisting of a sequence of algebraic formulas and/or logical steps to calculate or determine a given task.

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of systems, processes, or phenomena. They include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

Stable elementary particles having the smallest known positive charge, found in the nuclei of all elements. The proton mass is less than that of a neutron. A proton is the nucleus of the light hydrogen atom, i.e., the hydrogen ion.

Aggregates of matter in outer space.

Measurement of the intensity and quality of fluorescence.

Imaging methods that result in sharp images of objects located on a chosen plane and blurred images located above or below the plane.

The outer shorter of the two bones of the FOREARM, lying parallel to the ULNA and partially revolving around it.

Photochemistry is the study of chemical reactions induced by absorption of light, resulting in the promotion of electrons to higher energy levels and subsequent formation of radicals or excited molecules that can undergo various reaction pathways.

Neutrons, the energy of which exceeds some arbitrary level, usually around one million electron volts.

Positively-charged atomic nuclei that have been stripped of their electrons. These particles have one or more units of electric charge and a mass exceeding that of the Helium-4 nucleus (alpha particle).

The absence of light.

The part of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that is contained within the skull (CRANIUM). Arising from the NEURAL TUBE, the embryonic brain is comprised of three major parts including PROSENCEPHALON (the forebrain); MESENCEPHALON (the midbrain); and RHOMBENCEPHALON (the hindbrain). The developed brain consists of CEREBRUM; CEREBELLUM; and other structures in the BRAIN STEM.

Organs which might be damaged during exposure to a toxin or to some form of therapy. It most frequently refers to healthy organs located in the radiation field during radiation therapy.

A representation, generally small in scale, to show the structure, construction, or appearance of something. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

The use of molecularly targeted imaging probes to localize and/or monitor biochemical and cellular processes via various imaging modalities that include RADIONUCLIDE IMAGING; ULTRASONOGRAPHY; MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING; FLUORESCENCE IMAGING; and MICROSCOPY.

Improvement of the quality of a picture by various techniques, including computer processing, digital filtering, echocardiographic techniques, light and ultrastructural MICROSCOPY, fluorescence spectrometry and microscopy, scintigraphy, and in vitro image processing at the molecular level.

Native, inorganic or fossilized organic substances having a definite chemical composition and formed by inorganic reactions. They may occur as individual crystals or may be disseminated in some other mineral or rock. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed; McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

N-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes best known for the ones found in PLANTS.

Adjustment of the eyes under conditions of low light. The sensitivity of the eye to light is increased during dark adaptation.