In medical terms, Bq stands for Becquerel, which is the SI unit of radioactivity.
It represents the activity of a radioactive material in which, on average, one nucleus decays per second. Therefore, 1 Bq = 1 disintegration per second.
Since the Becquerel is a relatively small unit, larger multiples are commonly used in medical contexts:
- kBq: Kilobecquerel (1,000 Bq)
- MBq: Megabecquerel (1,000,000 Bq)
- GBq: Gigabecquerel (1,000,000,000 Bq)
These units are used to measure the amount of radioactivity in radiopharmaceuticals used for diagnostic imaging (like PET scans) and therapeutic treatments (like radiation therapy).
