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Determination of Nitrogen in Living Patients

Abstract

THE technique of in vivo activation analysis has been used in the sequential study of whole-body calcium1. Neutrons are produced by bombarding a lithium target with 10 MeV protons from the 1.5 m Nuffield cyclotron. The patients, after being irradiated to a dose of about 1.5 rem, are transferred to a whole-body counter in which the activities induced in calcium, sodium and chlorine are monitored. We briefly describe here a new technique for making in vivo measurements on line by counting during the period of irradiation. In particular we have examined the feasibility of measuring the whole-body nitrogen content and of detecting trace amounts of the toxic element cadmium. Liquid phantoms simulating the conditions in the human body are used for these studies.

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BIGGIN, H., CHEN, N., ETTINGER, K. et al. Determination of Nitrogen in Living Patients. Nature New Biology 236, 187–188 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio236187a0

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