Nuclear Medicine Technology Exam
Nuclear Medicine Technology Exam is a trademark of its owner, which is not affiliated with and does not endorse Test Treasure Publication or TTP Prep.
Nuclear Medicine Technology Exam is a trademark of its owner, which is not affiliated with and does not endorse Test Treasure Publication or TTP Prep.
10 sample questions for the Nuclear Medicine Technology Exam, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.
Sections covered on the exam: Radiation Physics and Detection, Radiation Biology and Radiation Protection, Regulations, Waste, Spills and Shipping, Generators, Kit Preparation and Radiopharmaceutical Quality Control, Diagnostic, PET, Therapeutic and Adjunct Agents, Gamma Camera, SPECT, PET and CT Instrumentation, Non-Imaging Instruments and Quality Control, Gastrointestinal, Genitourinary and Neurologic Procedures, Radionuclide Therapy and Non-Imaging Studies.
Question 1 · Radiation Physics and Detection
Answer: B. 34.9 mCi
The elapsed time is 4 h, so the decay factor is e^(-0.693 x 4 / 6.01) = 0.631, and the precalibrated activity is 22 / 0.631 = 34.9 mCi. Multiplying by the decay factor (13.9 mCi) applies decay in the wrong direction, 31.1 mCi uses the 3 h factor of 0.708, and 44.0 mCi assumes a full half-life has passed.
Question 2 · Generators, Kit Preparation and Radiopharmaceutical Quality Control
The hot lab generator log shows the morning elution and its molybdenum assay. The Mo-99 reading was taken with the eluate vial inside the lead Moly shield.
| Time | Tc-99m activity | Mo-99 activity |
|---|---|---|
| 0600 | 800 mCi | 40 uCi |
Answer: E. About 10.5 hours
The starting ratio is 40/800 = 0.05 uCi/mCi, so it must rise by a factor of 3. The ratio grows as e^((lambdaTc - lambdaMo) t) = e^((0.1153 - 0.0105) t), so t = ln 3 / 0.1048 = 10.5 h. Ignoring Mo-99 decay gives about 9.5 h, and using only the Mo-99 half-life gives about 105 h.
Question 3 · Diagnostic, PET, Therapeutic and Adjunct Agents
Answer: E. About 30 minutes before the Lu-177 dotatate infusion
The amino acid solution competitively reduces proximal tubular reabsorption of the peptide and lowers kidney radiation dose, so it is started about 30 minutes before Lu-177 dotatate and continued during and after the infusion. Starting it late or after therapy loses the protective effect. It is given routinely, not based on post-therapy imaging.
Question 4 · Non-Imaging Instruments and Quality Control
Answer: B. Match the wristband name and date of birth to the order
Two patient-specific identifiers, such as full name and date of birth on the wristband, must match the order before any radiopharmaceutical is given; when the patient cannot answer, the wristband and the order are compared and nursing can help confirm. A room or bed number is never an identifier because patients move.
Question 5 · Diagnostic, PET, Therapeutic and Adjunct Agents
Answer: C. Rest quietly in a warm room without talking or chewing gum
Muscle activity during uptake traps FDG in the working muscles, so talking and chewing raise uptake in the larynx, tongue and muscles of mastication and can mimic or hide tumor, and walking does the same in the legs and trunk. A warm, quiet room also limits brown fat activation, and sugar raises blood glucose, which competes with FDG.
Question 6 · Radiation Physics and Detection
Answer: A. 13.9 days
t = (T1/2 x ln(A0/A)) / 0.693 = (8.02 x ln 3.33) / 0.693 = (8.02 x 1.204) / 0.693 = 13.9 days. Two half-lives (16 days) would leave 25 mCi, and three half-lives (24.1 days) would leave 12.5 mCi.
Question 7 · Generators, Kit Preparation and Radiopharmaceutical Quality Control
A multidose vial of Ga-67 citrate contains 13.2 mCi in 4.4 mL (3.0 mCi/mL) at its calibration time, noon on Monday. A 5.0 mCi dose is needed at noon on Wednesday, 48 hours later. Ga-67 half-life: 78.3 hours.
Answer: C. 2.55 mL
Decay factor for 48 h of Ga-67 = e^(-0.693 x 48 / 78.3) = 0.654, so the concentration on Wednesday is 3.0 x 0.654 = 1.96 mCi/mL and the volume is 5.0 / 1.96 = 2.55 mL. Ignoring decay gives 1.67 mL, dividing by the decay factor gives 1.09 mL, using the In-111 half-life (67.3 h) gives 2.73 mL, and assuming one full half-life gives 3.33 mL.
Question 8 · Diagnostic, PET, Therapeutic and Adjunct Agents
Answer: C. F-18 flurpiridaz
Flurpiridaz F-18 binds mitochondrial complex I; its roughly 110-minute half-life allows unit-dose delivery from a regional cyclotron and leaves time for exercise stress. Rb-82 needs a generator and pharmacologic stress, N-13 ammonia (10 minutes) needs an on-site or very nearby cyclotron, FDG images glucose metabolism rather than perfusion, and Ga-68 dotatate is a somatostatin receptor agent.
Question 9 · Non-Imaging Instruments and Quality Control
Answer: C. Inject the tracer now and continue exercise about 1-2 minutes
The target has been reached, so the tracer is injected at peak exercise and the patient keeps exercising about 1-2 minutes with Tc-99m agents so that myocardial uptake reflects peak flow. Stopping before or right after injection lets flow fall during extraction, the age-predicted maximum is not the injection goal, and no conversion is needed when the target is met without problems.
Question 10 · Diagnostic, PET, Therapeutic and Adjunct Agents
Answer: B. Subacute (de Quervain) thyroiditis
Subacute thyroiditis causes painful inflammation that releases stored hormone while the damaged gland cannot trap iodine, giving thyrotoxicosis with very low uptake. Graves disease, toxic nodular goiter, toxic adenoma and iodine deficiency all show normal-to-high uptake.
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