Intercomparison and performance assessment of radionuclide calibrators used in nuclear medicine departments in Serbia

Miloš Živanović; Ivana Vukanac; Jelena Samac; Vojislav Antić; Marija Jeremić; Drina Janković; Aleksandar Kandić; Clarita Saldarriaga Vargas; Lara Struelens; Olivera Ciraj-Bjelac

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.110013

Intercomparison and performance assessment of radionuclide calibrators used in nuclear medicine departments in Serbia

Appl Radiat Isot. 2022 Jan:179:110013. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.110013. Epub 2021 Oct 29.

Affiliations

¹ "VINCA" Institute of Nuclear Sciences - National Institute of Thе Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
² "VINCA" Institute of Nuclear Sciences - National Institute of Thе Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: vukanac@vinca.rs.
³ Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Center of Laboratory Medicine, Novi Sad, Serbia; University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Physics, Novi Sad, Serbia.
⁴ University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
⁵ Department of Nuclear Medicine, Clinical Centre Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia.
⁶ Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Boeretang 200, 2400, Mol, Belgium.
⁷ "VINCA" Institute of Nuclear Sciences - National Institute of Thе Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia; School of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.

PMID: 34741955
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.110013

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to assess accuracy and compare the performance of radionuclide calibrators (RNCs) used in nuclear medicine departments in Serbia. Testing of the RNCs included verification of measurement accuracy, as well as analysis of routinely used quality control protocols, by using the certified radioactivity standards (⁵⁷Co, ¹³⁷Cs). RNCs performances were assessed with ^99mTc through comparison of reference value for radionuclide activity and RNC measurements. Results of the intercomparison revealed that RNCs, 15 in total, are accurate within 10% in vial geometry and within 15% in syringe geometry. Most of them showed similar performance. The results revealed that container geometry is an important influencing parameter in the accuracy of activity measurement. Obtained results indicate a need for regular calibration and implementation of Quality Control program in order to achieve and maintain the accuracy of activity measurements in nuclear medicine.

Keywords: Accuracy; Intercomparison study; Linearity; Performance testing; Precision; Radionuclide calibrators; Stability.

Publication types

Comparative Study

MeSH terms

Calibration
Nuclear Medicine*
Quality Control
Radioisotopes / analysis*
Serbia

Substances

Radioisotopes