Radiotherapy patients can trigger airport radiation alarms

Patients who undergo diagnostic and therapeutic procedures involving radioisotopes must be informed that they might trigger radiation alarms during security checks. Gangopadhyay and colleagues (p 293) describe the case of a 46 year old man who received radioiodine treatment for recurrent thyrotoxicosis. The nuclear medicine department did not tell the patient that he might set off radiation detectors. Six weeks later, the patient was detained at Orlando airport in the US after he triggered a radiation alarm. He was released after a long period of investigation and much embarrassment. The half life of the isotope and the increasing sensitivity of the detectors in airports must be considered when such warnings are given, the authors add.