Overview
ISO 12749-6:2020 - "Nuclear energy, nuclear technologies, and radiological protection - Vocabulary - Part 6: Nuclear medicine" defines the standardized vocabulary for diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine. The first edition (2020) provides concise terms, definitions, notes to entry and examples for frequently used concepts across medical, radiopharmacy and medical physics perspectives. Its primary aim is to harmonize terminology to facilitate clear communication, multidisciplinary collaboration and consistent documentation in clinical practice, research, regulation and education.
Key topics
- Core vocabulary for nuclear medicine: fundamental terms such as nuclear medicine, diagnostic nuclear medicine, therapeutic nuclear medicine, and theranostics.
- Diagnostic imaging terminology: definitions for nuclear medicine imaging, molecular imaging, PET, SPECT, quantitative imaging, standard uptake value (SUV) and diagnostic reference level (DRL).
- Therapeutic concepts: terms covering molecular radiotherapy, metabolic radiotherapy, radioimmunotherapy (RIT), peptide receptor radionuclide therapy and selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT).
- Radiopharmacy vocabulary: definitions for radiopharmaceutical, radiotracer, radiochemical purity, radionuclide purity, compounding, radiopharmaceutical reagent kits, and radionuclide generator.
- Equipment and studies: structured terms related to medical devices, imaging equipment and medical study concepts (see clauses 3.5–3.6).
- Conceptual methodology: Annex A describes the methodology used to develop the vocabulary and the concept systems that structure relationships among terms.
Practical applications and who uses it
ISO 12749-6:2020 is practical for:
- Radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians and clinicians interpreting PET/SPECT and planning theranostics or molecular therapies.
- Radiopharmacists and production facilities ensuring consistent labeling, purity descriptions and kit compounding language.
- Medical physicists and dosimetrists applying terms for quantitative imaging, uptake metrics and administered activity.
- Regulators, hospital administrators and policy writers who rely on harmonized terminology for guidelines, reporting and safety procedures.
- Educators, researchers and technical writers preparing teaching materials, publications and standardized reports.
Practical benefits
- Improves clarity in clinical reports and research publications.
- Facilitates multidisciplinary collaboration (medical, radiopharmacy, physics).
- Supports regulatory compliance, training and international interoperability.
Related standards
- Part of the ISO 12749 series (see ISO website for all parts).
- Aligned with ISO/IEC editorial rules and references ISO/IEC Directives noted in the foreword.
- Cross-references IAEA safety guidance sources cited in specific definitions (e.g., DRL).
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