Nuclear medicine has been used for more than 5 decades and has been very successful in diagnosing and treating a variety of diseases including brain tumors and many types of cancers. Molecular imaging is used in conjunction with nuclear medicine to provide images of the inside of your body on a molecular and cellular level, so that a diagnosis can be made as early as possible.
Preparing a patient for a nuclear medical procedure, a radioactive tracer material (or radioactive dye) is either injected or huffed through a mask. The camera monitors the dye and sees how it processes in your body, which the dye eventually collects in the part of the body which is to be scanned and because the tracer material gives off gamma rays, which are used as energy, the energy is then detected by the scanner. The devices work together to measure the amount of tracer active in your body to help produce special pictures to detail the structuring and functioning of your organs and inner body works (MassGeneral,2014).
Advantages to imaging using nuclear medicine is that it is relatively safer than other procedures, such as a biopsy, as it is non-invasive and painless and can detect the severity of a disease or issue and it can see how the disease has progressed in your body. This application can accurately identify the effectiveness of a treatment and whether it is helping or not (SNMMI,2014) Disadvantages could include a negative impact on health, especially when there is a build-up of radioisotopes present. Radioisotopes account for about 90% in the procedures for diagnosis of a disease or illness (World Nuclear Org,2014). The diseases or ailments that are typically diagnosed and treated with nuclear medicine procedures include but not limited to all...
... middle of paper ...
...g/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1228_prn.pdf
Massachusetts General (2014). Nuclear Medicine Scan. Retrieved from: http://www.massgeneral.org/imaging/services/procedure.aspx?id=2255
MD Anderson Center (2014). Conditions We Treat. Retrieved from: http://www.mdanderson.org/patient-and-cancer-information/proton-therapy-center/conditions-we-treat/index.html
Radiological Society of North America (2014). General Nuclear Medicine. Retrieved from: http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=gennuclear
Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (1954-2014). About Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging. Retrieved from: http://www.snmmi.org/AboutSNMMI/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=6433
World Nuclear Association (2014). Radioisotopes in Nuclear Medicine. Retrieved from: http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/non-power-nuclear-applications/radioisotopes/radioisotopes-in-medicine/
What needs to be assessed is how these full body scans are produced. It is produced through radiation through computed tomography. And, is the amount of radiation that a patient is receiving necessary. Radiation exposure is harmful. According to the FDA website
The MRI, on the other hand is less expensive and much safer (as it doesn’t expose the patient to potentially harmful radioactive chemicals). The MRI or magnetic resonance imaging device, as an safer alternative, applies a powerful magnetic field around the head of the patient.
The role of the radiologist is one that has undergone numerous changes over the years and continues to evolve a rapid pace. Radiologists specialize in the diagnoses of disease through obtaining and interpreting medical images. There are a number of different devices and procedures at the disposal of a radiologist to aid him or her in these diagnoses’. Some images are obtained by using x-ray or other radioactive substances, others through the use of sound waves and the body’s natural magnetism. Another sector of radiology focuses on the treatment of certain diseases using radiation (RSNA). Due to vast clinical work and correlated studies, the radiologist may additionally sub-specialize in various areas. Some of these sub-specialties include breast imaging, cardiovascular, Computed Tomography (CT), diagnostic radiology, emergency, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), musculoskeletal, neuroradiology, nuclear medicine, pediatric radiology, radiobiology, and Ultrasound (Schenter). After spending a vast amount of time on research and going to internship at the hospital, I have come to realize that my passion in science has greatly intensified. Furthermore, both experiences helped to shape up my future goals more prominently than before, which is coupled with the fact that I have now established a profound interest in radiology, or rather nuclear medicine.
These BGO crystals are arranged into 64 distinct segments so that the scintillation light from each of the segments can be distributed onto the photocathodes of four photomultiplier tubes to be amplified. These “block detectors” are placed into modules of four arranged as eight columns of 32 rows of crystals each. A ring of these detectors surrounds the patient during...
Driver, (2013), described the DEXA scanner as a machine that produces two x-ray beams of high and low energy levels. Much like fluoroscopy, the x-ray from the DEXA scanner comes from underneath the patient, and the scanner has a very low x-ray dose. Earlier versions of the DEXA scanner emitted radiation which required up to five minutes to scan an area of interest, but the more advanced machines can take as ...
All in all, MRI is a great imaging modality to properly diagnose a patient. MRI has many advantages and does not use any type of radiation. Even though MRI has been around for about a century it has gained a lot of advancement in the image quality. MRI allows a wide variety of anatomy to be imaged such as soft tissue, spine work, and organs. Like any imaging modality MRI does have a couple of disadvantages, but the advantages out way the risks. MRI will continue to improve and will be one of the best imaging modalities in the medical field.
Without this simple device, many lives would have been lost to fires. Along with smoke detectors, nuclear technology is also used in the wide world of medicine. Chemotherapy is one of the leading ways to combat cancer growth and is helping to extend the lives, and even curing, patients everywhere. While radiation in food production may at first sound like an off-putting idea, radiation is already being used to better grow the world’s farming capabilities by expanding many countries crop outputs. Nuclear technology is everywhere, and that is not a bad
Nuclear energy is used today for energy supply and about 15% of the world’s energy comes from nuclear power plants some forms of medicine such as nuclear medicine rely solely on nuclear technology. This technology was developed through the process of creating the first atomic bomb and would not exist if not for the advancements made during the Manhattan project.
I. Radiation therapy hasn't always been something everyone found to be safe,usable, or effective.It has been cosidered dangerous and sometimes fatal, some also believe radiation therapy will cause the patient to not to get better but to make get worse and very ill. Some people with open minds ponder the question does radiation therapy really cause you to get worse?Radiation therapy can do you good because it kills of cancer cells which could save your life depending on the severity of it. Radiation therapy doesn’t cause harm.
Radiation therapists work closely with patients to fight cancer. According to Health Care Careers, Oncologists, Dosimetrists and nurses are some of the professionals that a radiation therapist works with while caring for a cancer patient. This group of professionals will determine a specialized treatment plan. The first step usually includes a CT scan performed by a radiologist to find the exact area that needs to be targeted with x-rays. Next, the therapist uses a special machine that emits radiation called a Linear Accelerator. They use this machine during a treatment called external beam therapy. During this process, the Linear Accelerator will project x-rays at targeted cancer cells or tumors. Another therapist will be in a different room monitoring the patient’s viral signs until the procedure is over. The external therapy l...
Radiology is one of the few so-called “physical-science”-based fields of medicine, making it a challenging and rewarding application of an academic interest in science. It combines advanced knowledge of human physiology with principles of atomic physics and nuclear decay, electricity and magnetism, and both organic and inorg...
Horowitz, N. H. (1997, July 23). Roger Wolcott Sperry. Retrieved November 19, 2013, from Nobelprize.org: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1981/sperry-article.html
. As an aspiring radiation therapist, it is critical to be able to read an ultrasound image especially with respect to treatment planning. It is very important to be able to distinguish the features of a malignant tumour from surrounding normal tissues; to be able to look at an ultrasound image and immediately see the location of a malignant lesion is a lifelong skill. After specifically looking at the role of ultrasound in the diagnosis of cancer of the adrenal gland, one more readily realizes that ultrasound is in some respects invaluable, but in other respects usurped by modalities such as CT and MRI scans. Thus, one must be familiar with all of these different imaging modalities in order to be able to most effectively diagnose, plan and treat a cancer patient.
d) Beyer T, Freudenberg L, Townsend D, Czernin J (2010). The future of hybrid imaging—part 1: Hybrid imaging technologies and SPECT/CT. Insights Into Imaging: 1-9. [PMC free article]. URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3288981/
Radiation is something that we are exposed to on a daily basis; it is in the air we breathe. Radiation is used in hospitals, research labs, and in many medical procedures. It is also commonly used as a treatment for cancer. In some cases it helps and in others it does not. Radiation is used for cancer treatment because it kills cells. The issue is that it is killing healthy cells at the same time it is killing cancerous cells. Even though medical imaging emits radiation, it makes it possible for us to detect injuries and significant diseases. Radiation is measured in a few different ways, and has numerous side effects on our body depending on the dosage. We are exposed to it in the environment unintentionally, and at times in treatment purposely. Additionally, there is current research in effort to reduce the amount of radiation in medical procedures.