Radioisotopes for diagnostics
Nuclear medicine uses radioisotopes to diagnose diseases of the thyroid gland and other organs such as the lungs, heart, liver, gall bladder and skeletal system.
The most important and most frequently used isotope in nuclear medicine is technetium-99m, the daughter isotope of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). It is used very widely for diagnostic purposes and is usually produced as a fission product during the irradiation of uranium. In the future, molybdenum-99 will also be produced in large quantities at the FRM II.