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Old 19-November-2008, 08:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nerthus View Post
Well actually, the positrons in PET scans come from the radioactive isotopes attached to glucose molecules. The glucose is ingested and condenses in the brain, tumors, and a few other areas, and the radioactive isotopes go through beta decay, releasing a positron that annihilates with an electron from the surroundings. The antimatter is produced within the body and no production or storage of it is necessary. Pretty nifty really.
This is true. Perhaps not a good example Gsquare. Perhaps this shows that using precursors might be a better idea. But then we'd need a method that gives a very high rate of production, (precursor ---> positron), on demand.
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