Calculation of the activities of the father-son pair of a 99Mo/99mTc generator

Nuclear medicine is a medical speciality based on the administration of radiopharmaceuticals to patients. Radiopharmaceuticals are composed of a cold molecule, specific to an organ or function, and a radionuclide. The isotope most commonly used in imaging is 99mTc, thanks to its physical properties (pure gamma emission, physical half-life of six hours and energy of 140 keV), its chemical properties (coupling with numerous cold molecules) and its availability. It is produced by a 99Mo/99mTc generator, which covers the weekly activity of almost all nuclear medicine departments. It is obtained by quick and easy elution. The number of elutions per day (one or two) depends on the needs of the department. The time of the second elution is crucial. The aim of this work is to use a quick and easy method to monitor the activity of the eluate in real time. We implemented a graphical interface using Matlab software. This interface enables the activities of 99Mo and 99mTc to be calculated at any desired time. This calculation is accessible and fast.