A generator is used in nuclear medicine to provide a radioisotope used for a scintigraphic procedure. A generator contains a radionuclide (e.g. molybdenum) that decays to another radionuclide (decay product, e.g. technetium) that can be extracted and used. The original radionuclide is firmly bound in the generator and remains behind.

See also Eluate

A cinefluorography produces a movie (cine) film from an image intensifier during x-rays examinations (often called videofluorography, cineradiography or cine). Cinefluorography is always monitored on the TV screen normally used for fluoroscopy. The image from the output screen of the image intensifier is split with a semi-transparent mirror into two output ports; one leading to the movie camera and the other to the fluoroscopy camera. Most of the light is directed to the cine camera. The image on the monitor does not suffer in quality due to the fact that the tube current for cinefluorography is about 100 times higher than for common fluoroscopy.
The x-ray generator pulses are synchronized with the movements of the cine camera, so that no x-rays are emitted when the film is moved forward to the next frame. The needed very accurate synchronization of the x-ray generator can be achieved by use of high voltage switching in the secondary circuit of the constant potential x-ray generator, by starting and stopping the inverter in a medium frequency generator or by using a grid controlled x-ray tube.

An eluate is the solvent containing the decay product when a generator is eluted (gathering the daughter radionuclide from a generator using a suitable solvent).

See also Generator.

The nuclide produced by radioactive decay or nuclear reaction (e.g. in a generator) of the parent nuclide. The daughter nuclide becomes, if not stable, the unstable parent in the next decay.

See also Decay, Decay Chain and Generator.

Decay chain or decay series is a series of decays that certain radioisotopes go through before reaching a stable form. For example, the production of technetium-99m (daughter nuclide with a half-life of 6 hours) from molybdenum-99 (parent nuclide with a half-life of 66 hours) in a generator is part of a decay chain.

See also Decay and Generator.