A system for measuring total body calcium in man using the 40Ca(n, alpha )37Ar reaction

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Abstract
A technique to measure total body calcium using the 40Ca(n, alpha )37Ar reaction has been developed. The technique is based on collecting 37Ar exhaled in the breath following a 10 mrad uniform total body irradiation by 14 MeV neutrons. The 37Ar in the exhaled breath is extracted by selective absorption and its radioactivity is measured inside a low-background proportional detector. The facilities developed include an activation facility providing a +or-2.7% activation uniformity, a closed circuit rebreathing and gas collection system, and a gas purification and counting system. The technique provides a precision of +or-2.4% as determined by repetitive measurements of human volunteers and has an accuracy of determination of total body calcium in grams of +or-5%.