Asked by dallasboy

Which characteristics of a radioisotope make it useful for diagnosing medical problems?

a long half-life and it is taken up by a specific part of the body
a long half-life and it is not taken up by the body
a short half-life and it is taken up by a specific part of the body
a short half-life and it is not taken up by the body

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
A short half-life and it is taken up by a specific part of the body.

Explanation: uptake by the target organ gives useful imaging contrast, while a short half-life minimizes the patient's radiation dose (but must be long enough to perform the scan). Example: technetium‑99m (≈6 h half‑life) is widely used for diagnostic scans.