Biomedical probe using a fiber-optic coupled scintillator.

A high-sensitivity biomedical radiation probe which employs a fiber-optic coupled NaI(Tl) scintillator as a detector is described. It was developed for in vivo counting of low-energy 239Pu photons from material located in the tracheobronchial lymph nodes.-This probe is 20 times as sensitive as a solid-state probe (avalanche diode) previously developed for this application. Tests with 99mTc show a sensitivity more than 90 times greater than biomedical probes using DcTe of GaAs; however, the improved sensitivity is largely due to an increased sensitive volume. Probes were evaluated in animals and phantoms for detection of 239Pu and for location of lung tumors labeled with 111In.