Nuclear data relevant to the production and application of diagnostic radionuclides

The types of nuclear data and their quality required in the production and application of diagnostic radionuclides are outlined. The radioactive decay data determine the suitability of a radioisotope for in vivo tracer studie s, both from the imaging and internal radiation dose considerations. The nu clear reaction cross section data allow optimisation of production routes. Both reactors and cyclotrons are used for production purposes. The nuclear data needed in the two cases and their present status are discussed. Specia l attention is paid to radionuclides suitable for emission tomography (PET and SPECT). The controversy about reactor vs cyclotron production of the wi dely used Mo-99/Tc-99m generator system is discussed. Some special consider ations in cyclotron production of radionuclides are outlined. The need of a ccurate data near reaction thresholds, the constraint of available particle s and their energies at a small cyclotron, the influence of increasing inci dent particle energy, and the formation of isomeric impurities are discusse d in detail. The role of nuclear model calculations in predicting unknown d ata is considered.