Context
Nuclear medicine is the medical specialty using radioactive isotopes for research, diagnosis & treatment of sick tissues & organs. Due to the exposure of patients & health personnel to unsealed radioisotopes, resorting to nuclear medicine is not without risk. And yet, every year, thousands of patients suffering from tumors, cancers, & bone pains resulting from cancer, are treated with iodine-131, whose dose is variable depending on the type of intervention to perform & the body part to examine. As it is a fission product, the risk of accidental release & contamination of the surrounding environment, is extremely feared. To stick to the ALARA principle (As Low as Reasonably Achievable), the Health Physics Department of the Caen- Normandie University Hospital Center (CHU) thus decided to provide oneself with Bertin Technologies’ alpha & beta contamination meter SaphyRAD C.
