| positron emission tomography | <radiology> A highly specialised research imaging technique using short lived radioactive substances - usually those made with a cyclotron. This technique is very sensitive in picking up active tumour tissue but does not measure the size of it. Tomographic images are formed by computer analysis of photons detected from annihilation of positrons emitted by radionuclides incorporated into biochemical substances; the images, often quantitated with a colour scale, show the uptake and distribution of the substances in the tissue, permitting analysis and localization of metabolic and physiological function. Because the half-lives of the radionuclides are so short (20 minutes to 2 hours), and the equipment expensive, PET is rarely used in a clinical setting. But since its development in the mid-1970s, it has proved the most important tool yet devised for experimental investigation of the living brain, whether healthy, traumatised, or diseased. With CT and MRI, it represents a new generation of computer imaging techniques that have revolutionised medicine and physiology. Acronym: PET (20 Jun 2000) |
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| single photon emission computed tomography | <radiology> Tomographic imaging of metabolic and physiological functions in tissues, the image being formed by computer synthesis of photons of a single energy emitted by radionuclides administered in suitable form to the patient. The method uses radionuclides which emit a single photon of a given energy. The camera is then rotated 180 or 360 degrees around the patient to capture images at multiple positions along the arc. The computer then reconstructs the transaxial, sagittal, and coronal images from the 3-dimensional distribution of radionuclides in the target area scanned. The advantages of SPECT are that it can be used to observe biochemical and physiological processes as well as the size and volume of the organ. The disadvantage is that, unlike positron emission tomography where the positron-electron annihilation results in the emission of 2 photons at 180 degrees from each other, SPECT requires physical collimation to line up the photons, which results in the loss of available photons and hence degrades the image. Acronym: SPECT (20 Jun 2000) |
| source emission reduction plan | (SERP) A contingency plan developed to reduce emissions during an air quality emergency. (05 Dec 1998) |
| spectrometry, X-ray emission | Identification and measurement of concentration of elements based on the fact that X-rays emitted by an excited element have a wavelength characteristic of that element and an intensity related to its concentration. It includes fluorescence, or secondary-emission, X-ray spectrometry, in which the specimen is irradiated by X-rays. Primary-emission x-ray spectrometry, in which the specimen is bombarded by electrons, is a specific type of X-ray emission spectrometry known as electron probe microanalysis. (12 Dec 1998) |
| spontaneous emission | <radiobiology> Radiation randomly emitted by excited atoms or ions. Contrast with stimulated emission. (09 Oct 1997) |
| stimulated emission | <radiobiology> Radiation coherently emitted by excited ions when driven by a passing light wave and the appropriate transition wavelength. Laser means Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, it occurs when there is a population inversion between the upper and lower energy states of the transition, such that stimulated emission can dominate excitation. Stimulated emission is coherent and codirectional with the stimulating wave, and the rate of stimulated emission is proportional to the intensity of the stimulating wave. (09 Oct 1997) |
| ion cyclotron emission | <radiobiology> As ions gyrate around in a magnetic field (see also larmor radius or cyclotron radius), they radiate radio-frequency electromagnetic waves. This is known as ion cyclotron emission, and can be measured to help diagnose a plasma. (09 Oct 1997) |
| electron cyclotron emission | <physics, radiobiology> As electrons gyrate around in a magnetic field (see also larmor radius or cyclotron radius), they radiate radio-frequency electromagnetic waves. This is known as electron cyclotron emission, and can be measured to help diagnose a plasma. (09 Oct 1997) |
| emission | 1. The act of sending or throwing out; the act of sending forth or putting into circulation; issue; as, the emission of light from the sun; the emission of heat from a fire; the emission of bank notes. 2. That which is sent out, issued, or put in circulation at one time; issue; as, the emission was mostly blood. 3. <physics> Emission theory, the theory of Newton, regarding light as consisting of emitted particles or corpuscles. See Corpuscular theory. Origin: L. Emissio: cf. F. Emission. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| emission-computed tomography | <radiology> Tomography using emissions from radionuclides and a computer algorithm to reconstruct the image. (20 Jun 2000) |
| emission electron | <physics>? A beta particle resulting from radioactive decay. (05 Mar 2000) |
| emission offset | <chest medicine> A reduction in the air pollution emissions of existing sources to compensate for emissions from new sources. (05 Dec 1998) |
| emission standard | This regulatory value is a quantitative limit on the emission or discharge of a potentially toxic substance from a source. The simplest form for regulatory purposes is a uniform emission standard (UES) where the same limit is placed on all emissions of a particular contaminant. (09 Oct 1997) |
| field-emission microscope | <instrument, microscopy> Either one of two kinds of point-projection microscopes, both invented by E. W. Muller: (1) The older device (1936) is a specialised cathode-ray tube, employing field-emission of electrons from a negatively charged tip of a very sharp needle in a vacuum, by point-projection of the image onto a positively charged, fluorescent screen. (2) A later device (field-ion-mission microscope, 1950) emits absorbed helium ions from an anode. (05 Aug 1998) |
| field emission tube | An X-ray tube that uses a cold cathode, relying on the tube voltage to pull electrons from it to the anode. (05 Mar 2000) |