Measurement of Rn-219 with Alphaguard radon monitors

Carsten Wanke; Bastian Szermerski; Lilli Geworski

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.03.041

Measurement of Rn-219 with Alphaguard radon monitors

Appl Radiat Isot. 2019 Sep:151:310-316. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.03.041. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Authors

Carsten Wanke¹, Bastian Szermerski², Lilli Geworski²

Affiliations

¹ Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Stabsstelle Strahlenschutz und Abteilung Medizinische Physik - OE 0020, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, D-30625, Hannover, Germany. Electronic address: wanke.carsten@mh-hannover.de.
² Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Stabsstelle Strahlenschutz und Abteilung Medizinische Physik - OE 0020, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, D-30625, Hannover, Germany.

PMID: 31279317
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.03.041

Abstract

The alpha-emitting radionuclide Ra-223 is used in nuclear medicine in form of the commercially available radiopharmaceutical "Xofigo". The direct progeny of Ra-223 is Rn-219, a noble gas with a half-life of approx. four seconds, that might be exhaled by patients treated with Ra-223. For assessing the exhalation of Rn-219, a radon monitor calibrated for this isotope is necessary. This work investigates on the response of the commercially available Alphaguard radon monitor to Rn-219 and proposes for the first time a factor for the calculation of the Rn-219-concentration in the instrument's measurement chamber from the instrument reading suitable for estimating patients exhalations.

Keywords: Alphaguard; Nuclear medicine; Rn-219 measurement.

MeSH terms

Calibration
Humans
Radiation Monitoring / instrumentation*
Radon Daughters / analysis*

Substances

Radon Daughters