Evaluating the Radioactive Waste Produced per Patient by Radiopharmaceutical Sources and Measuring the Radioactive Contamination of Surfaces and Staff at the Bushehr Nuclear Medicine Department.

Background: Nuclear medicine is an integral and developing field in diagnosing and treating diseases. Monitoring individuals' protection and radiation contamination in the workplace is vital for preserving working environments. Objective: This study aimed to monitor the nuclear medicine department's personnel, environment, and wastes to determine the level of occupational radiation and environmental pollution in Bushehr's nuclear medicine department. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the initial activity of each radioisotope, radiopharmaceutical, and radioactive waste was measured using a "well counter" daily for three months. Three irradiators' absorbed doses were measured using a direct reading dosimeter. The contamination was determined using an indirect wipe test method on various surfaces. A Geiger Müller dosimeter was employed to examine personnel's hands, clothing, and footwear. Results: The highest activity was observed in technetium waste (1118.31 mCi). Every irradiator received a lower absorption dose than the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) standard threshold. The majority of contamination was associated with the exercise test room (0.04 Bq/cm2) and its work surface (0.013 Bq/cm2), which were both below the threshold (0.5 Bq/cm2). Staff monitoring indicated that two nurses (10 and 11 individuals) had the highest contamination rate (23.7%). Conclusion: Daily assessment of the type, activity, and method of radiopharmaceutical administration to the patient is advantageous for waste management. Surface contamination monitoring can significantly contribute to the estimation of the level of radiation pollution in the environment.

Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Modalities for Breast Cancer Diagnosis: An Overview of Recent Findings and Perspectives.

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women and the leading cause of death. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) are advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures that are widely used in the diagnostic and treatment evaluation of breast cancer. This review article describes the characteristics of new MRI methods and reviews recent findings on breast cancer diagnosis. This review study was performed on the literature sourced from scientific citation websites such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science until July 2021. All relevant works published on the mentioned scientific citation websites were investigated. Because of the propensity of malignancies to limit diffusion, DWI can improve MRI diagnostic specificity. Diffusion tensor imaging gives additional information about diffusion directionality and anisotropy over traditional DWI. Recent findings showed that DWI and DTI and their characteristics may facilitate earlier and more accurate diagnosis, followed by better treatment. Overall, with the development of instruments and novel MRI modalities, it may be possible to diagnose breast cancer more effectively in the early stages.

COVID-19 and MERS: Are their Chest X-ray and Computed Tomography Scanning Signs Related?

Background: COVID-19 is a respiratory infection brought about by SARS-COV-2. Most of the patients contaminated by this pathogen are afflicted by respiratory syndrome with multiple stages ranging from mild upper respiratory involvement to severe dyspnea and acute respiratory distress syndrome cases. Keeping in mind the high sensitivity of computed tomography (CT) scan in detecting abnormalities, it became the number one modality in COVID-19 diagnosis. A wide diversity of CT features can be found in COVID-19 cases, which can be observed before the onset of clinical signs. The review article is aimed to highlight recent discrepancies in CT-scan and chest X-ray (CXR) characteristics between COVID-19 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Method: This review study was performed in the literature from the beginning of COVID-19 until the middle of April 2021. For this reason, all relevant works through scientific citation websites such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science have been investigated in the mentioned period. Results: COVID-19 was more reproductive than MERS, while MERS was significantly higher in terms of mortality rate (COVID-19: 2.3% and MERS: 34.4%). Signs of ground-glass opacity (GGO), peripheral consolidation, and GGO accompanying with consolidation are the same signs CXR in both MERS and COVID-19. Indeed, fever, cough, headache, and sore throat are the most symptoms in all studied patients. Conclusion: Both COVID-19 and MERS have the same imaging signs. The most similar chest CT findings are GGO, peripheral consolidation, and GGO superimposed by consolidation in both studied diseases, and no statistical differences were seen among the mean number of chest CT-scans in MERS and COVID-19 cases.