Description

This fellowship opportunity at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) supports the development of a portable triple-to-double coincidence ratio liquid scintillation counter (p-TDCR). The device aims to establish primary radioactivity standards for short-lived radionuclides used in medical imaging, such as Rb-82 with a half-life of 75 seconds. These isotopes decay rapidly, posing challenges for accurate activity measurement and traceability, which are critical for quantitative imaging and minimizing patient radiation dose.

Historically, primary standards have been established only at national metrology institutes like NIST, requiring time-intensive processes and limiting accessibility at clinical production sites. The p-TDCR will be field-deployable, allowing direct primary activity measurements at production or clinical locations, thus overcoming logistical barriers.

The project involves hardware and software design and integration, including LabVIEW programming, and fundamental metrology work. Successful development will significantly impact nuclear medicine and molecular imaging by improving measurement accuracy and standardization.

Keywords

• Liquid scintillation counting
• Triple-to-double coincidence ratio
• Nuclear medicine
• Quantitative imaging
• Radionuclide metrology
• LabVIEW FPGA