What is the difference between technetium 99m and technetium 99

One is promethium, with a nucleus containing 61 protons, and the other has an atomic number of technetium. Technetium, which is chemically similar to potassium, is something of a freak. The half-lives of its three isotopes range between , and 2.

Technetium has therefore had plenty of time to completely disappear from our planet. For the last fifty or so years, technetium 99 has been artificially created as a fission product in nuclear reactors.

This technetium 99 , with a half-life of , years, is the most abundant member of the family of long-lived fission products. It is relatively mobile. Considering the disposal of nuclear waste, this relative abindance and mobility makes it the main contributor to the very long-term potential radiotoxicity of the fission products.

Scans that will be most impacted are skeletal and myocardial scans. Patient care and safety is our priority and patients will continue to receive high-quality healthcare, with every effort made to minimise patient impact. Your doctor, and the relevant nuclear medicine experts either at a hospital or private clinic , will work together to determine if alternative diagnostic scans are appropriate. If your scan is non-urgent, it may be deferred and rescheduled. Scans may also be brought forward to ensure optimal use of available resources — patients are asked to accommodate these changes where possible.

Tcm is the preferred tracer for a number of scans used in medicine worldwide to help diagnose medical conditions. Tcm scans are used to detect a wide range of conditions including injuries, infections, tumours, heart disease, thyroid abnormalities, kidney conditions and also to guide some cancer procedures. Skip to navigation Skip to main content Site map Accessibility Contact us. Search this site Search all sites Search.

Go to whole of WA Government Search. Technetium is produced during nuclear reactor operation, and is a byproduct of nuclear weapons explosions. Technetium can be found as a component of nuclear waste.

Technetiumm is a short-lived form of Tc that is used as a medical diagnostic tool. It has a short half-life 6 hours and does not remain in the body or the environment for long.

Beta Particles. Air, sea water, soils, plants and animals contain very low concentrations of Tc Because of its long half-life, Tc remains in the environment for an extended period of time. Organic matter in soils and sediments slow the transport of Tc In the presence of oxygen, plants readily take up technetium compounds from the soils.

Some plants such as brown algae in seawater are able to concentrate Tc Sea animals can also concentrate Technetium in their bodies.