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Iodine-123



Iodine-123 is a radioactive isotope of iodine often used in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Its half-life is 13.13 hours; the decay emits gamma radiation, and in medical applications this radiation can be detected by a SPECT-scanner.

Medical application

Typically iodine-123 is injected or prescribed by pill;[citation needed] the patient is later imaged by a nuclear camera. Areas where the radioactive iodine (called radio-iodine) concentrates will show up on the nuclear camera.

Iodine-123 is most commonly used to detect cancers of the thyroid, as this is the organ most receptive to forms of iodine.[citation needed] Once the thyroid has absorbed the radio-iodine, any cancer present will have a differing uptake of radio-iodine than the natural, surrounding tissue. This difference can be analyzed by a doctor to determine whether there exists a possibility for thyroid cancer. A tissue biopsy may also be performed to further determine whether it is cancerous or not, and whether it is malignant or benign.

See also

 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Iodine-123". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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