Page "Radioactive tracer" Paragraph 39

In medicine, tracers are applied in a number of tests, such as < sup > 99m </ sup > Tc in autoradiography and nuclear medicine, including single photon emission computed tomography ( SPECT ), positron emission tomography ( PET ) and scintigraphy.

The urea breath test for helicobacter pylori commonly used a dose of < sup > 14 </ sup > C labeled urea to detect h. pylori infection.

If the labeled urea was metabolized by h. pylori in the stomach, the patient's breath would contain labeled carbon dioxide.

In recent years, the use of substances enriched in the non-radioactive isotope < sup > 13 </ sup > C has become the preferred method, avoiding patient exposure to radioactivity.