title: Measurements of total body calcium by prompt-gamma neutron activation analysis using a 252Cf source.
abstract: A clinical neutron activation instrument has been developed for in vivo elemental analysis. Utilizing the prompt-capture gamma ray technique, simultaneous total body (TB) measurements of primarily Ca, but also Cl, N, C, and H are routinely performed. This paper describes a technique for the measurement of TBCa (g) that relies on the use of TBCl as an internal standard. The method has been tested with four anthropomorphic phantoms covering a range of body habitus. The mean discrepancy between the measured and known Ca contents was 3.6%. The technique has been applied to two patient groups, and encouraging results were obtained.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Clinical Engineering, Singleton Hospital, Swansea, Wales, UK.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ryde
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Compston
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sivyer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dutton
mesh_terms: D001823:Body Composition; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis*; D002142:Californium; D002713:Chlorine / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008961:Models, Structural; D009501:Neutron Activation Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012016:Reference Values; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma
chemical_list: D002713:Chlorine; D002142:Californium; D002118:Calcium