Nuclear Medicine Research Paper

1397 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on why nuclear medicine is important

Nuclear medicine is very important to medical world today. Nuclear medicine is a branch of medicine that uses radioactive substances/chemicals in diagnosis, research, and treatment. Nuclear medicine is very safe and painless which is why it is used today. This is a new way of treating or finding abnormalities and sickness that was not used years ago because it was not as prominent or did not even exist. Nuclear medicine is used in hospitals all over the world today. Because of the use of nuclear medicine, we are able to identify problems in the body before they become worse or even cause death. Nuclear medicine has saved millions upon millions of lives. Nuclear medicine is very important; without it we would have a harder time understanding …show more content…

Some researchers and experts suggest it came into view during the 1930s when radioactivity was discovered. We see the new idea of nuclear chemistry become noted when an article about it was written by Sam Seidlin. In the article, we saw he expressed much delight when a patient who was treated with radioactive substances (who had cancer) faced much success. This went on to bring much attention to the idea of nuclear medicine. Nuclear medicine would then start to be used starting with nuclear iodine which was used for thyroid function, thyroid cancer, gland imaging, etc. By the time the 1950s came nuclear medicine became very prominent. Doctors made much time in researching and educating themselves on radioactivity and biochemicals. After this, the first medical scanner was created by Benedict Cassen. A camera would also be paired with the scanner which was created by Hal Anger. These two inventions would turn nuclear medicine into a real medical …show more content…

Well, there are a few different types of ways nuclear medicine is used. Nuclear medicine is can used for purposes relating to research, diagnosis, and treatment. To start a doctor will put low-leveled radioactive substances such as radionuclides, radiopharmaceuticals, or radiotracers inside a host's body. These substances can be swallowed or injected. They type of substance used depends on the specific type or area they are looking to test or examine (where the problem could be). For instance in MIBG scans, the tracer as well as the MIBG are injected together because helps identify the main issue. So, the substance will react with the body where it will either clump together or cause excretions.This process could take from hours to days. These reactions will then be detected and scanned by the scanner used. They will then be measured and presented as images. The pictures will help give a view of what is going on and they can be used by the nuclear physicians to give diagnosis. After this is complete, the nuclear substance will then pass through the host's body through digestion after a few hours or days (it varies). But, you can also speed the process by drinking lots of fluids and eating a lot. This whole process is very easy which makes it very beneficial for the patient having to go through

Show More
Related

  • Impact of the Manhattan Project

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Radiation Therapy Essay

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    “External radiation uses a machine that directs high-energy rays from outside the body into the tumor and some normal nearby tissue.” (American Cancer Society p. 5) After this treatment the patient will not be radioactive, but treatment is delivered in small doses and can last several weeks. “Internal radiation or brachytherapy, uses a radioactive source, called an implant, that’s put inside the body in or near the tumor.” (American Cancer Society p. 9) It may be placed in an organ or in the cancerous tumor. The patient will be radioactive for a short time. Due to the implant being near the source of cancer a larger dose can be delivered to the patient. “Systemic radiation uses radioactive drugs to treat certain type of cancer.” (American Cancer Society p. 12) The drugs used are called radiopharmaceuticals and can be delivered orally or intravenously. “They collect where the cancer is to give off their radiation and kill the cancer cells.” (American Cancer Society p. 12) After this treatment the patient will be radioactive, and will take a few days to be removed from the patients

    Read More

  • Albert Einstein's Role In Building The Atomic Bomb

    548 Words  | 2 Pages

    It was Italian-born physicist and Nobel winner Enrico Fermi, and his colleagues at the University of Chicago who were responsible for this success (“Nuclear”).

    Read More

  • Computed Tomography and Radionuclide Imaging

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a starting point in CT diagnostic imaging the form of radiation used to provide an image are x-rays photons , this can also be called an external radiation dose which detect a pathological condition of an organ or tissue and therefore it is more organ specific. However the physics process can be described as the radiation passes through the body it is received by a detector and then integrated by a computer to obtain a cross-sectional image (axial). In this case the ability of a CT scanner is to create only axial two dimensional images using a mathematical algorithm for image reconstruction. In contrast in RNI the main property for producing a diagnostic image involves the administration of small amounts of radiotracers or usually called radiopharmaceutical drugs to the patient by injection or oral. Radio meaning the emitted of gamma rays and pharmaceutical represents the compound to which a nuclide is bounded or attached. Unlike CT has the ability to give information about the physiological function of a body system. The radiopharmaceutical often referred to as a nuclide has the ability to emit ga...

    Read More

  • Nuclear Technology After the World War II

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    After the United States developed the atomic at the end of World War II, interest in nuclear technology increased exponentially. People soon realized that nuclear technology could be used for electricity, as another alternative to fossil fuels. Today, nuclear power has its place in the world, but there is still a lot of controversy over the use of nuclear energy. Things such as the containment of radiation and few nuclear power plant accidents have given nuclear power a bad image. However, nuclear power is a reliable source of energy because it has no carbon emissions, energy is available at any time, little fuel is needed for a lot of energy, and as time goes on, it is becoming safer and safer.

    Read More

  • Radiation Therapy

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Nuclear Power Essay

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    What Nuclear power has the ability to do is get a lot of power in a little amount of space. “Roughly 1.6 billion people live without access to electricity, and 2.4 billion rely on traditional biomass because they have no access to modern fuel.” (General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei) With nuclear power put into these countries that are without power we can have it to where electricity will be accessibility to everyone. By having power accessible to everyone we can accomplish so much more and unlock more possibilities in our world today.

    Read More

  • Uranium

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    Uranium, a radioactive element, was first mined in the western United States in 1871 by Dr. Richard Pierce, who shipped 200 pounds of pitchblende to London from the Central City Mining District. This element is sorta boring but I found something interesting, they used it to make an an atomic bomb in the Cold War. In 1898 Pierre and Marie Curie and G. Bemont isolated the "miracle element" radium from pitchblende. That same year, uranium, vanadium and radium were found to exist in carnotite, a mineral containing colorful red and yellow ores that had been used as body paint by early Navajo and Ute Indians on the Colorado Plateau. The discovery triggered a small prospecting boom in southeastern Utah, and radium mines in Grand and San Juan counties became a major source of ore for the Curies. It was not the Curies but a British team working in Canada which was the first to understand that the presence of polonium and radium in pitchblende was not due to simple geological and mineral reasons, but that these elements were directly linked to uranium by a process of natural radioactive transmutation. The theory of radioactive transformation of elements was brilliantly enlarge in1901 by the New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford and the English chemist Frederick Soddy at McGill University in Montreal. At dusk on the evening of November 8, 1895, Wilhelm Rontgen, professor of physics at the University of Wurzburg in Germany, noticed a cathode tube that a sheet of paper come distance away. He put his hand between the tube and the paper, he saw the image of the bones in his hand on the paper.

    Read More

  • Nuclear Medicine

    2371 Words  | 5 Pages

    Nuclear Medicine is the use of radioisotopes for diagnosis, treatment, and research. Radioactive chemical tracers emit gamma rays which provides diagnostic information about a person's anatomy and the functioning of specific organs. Radioisotopes are also utilizes in treatments of diseases such as cancer. It is estimated that approximately one in two people in Western countries are likely to experience the benefits of nuclear medicine in their lifetime.

    Read More

  • Radioisotopes and their Medical Uses

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    A radioisotope is an isotope that emits radiation as it has nuclear instability(Prostate Cancer; Fusion imaging helps target greater doses of radiation).Those who are not too familiar with radioisotopes may think their use is for harmful radiation, nuclear weapons, and the possibility of turning into a giant, raging, green monster. However, there are much more positive uses for radioisotopes. There have been many medical advances thanks to the benefit and practice of radioisotopes in nuclear medicine. These advances have been able to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases.

    Read More

  • Nuclear Chemistry

    1999 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The half-life of a radioisotope is the time required for half the atoms in a given sample to undergo radioactive decay; for any particular radioisotope, the half-life is independent of the initial amount of...

    Read More

  • Nuclear Engineer Essay

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nuclear engineers commonly find solutions to technical problems involving nuclear materials. The engineer’s main role is to “…research and develop the processes, instruments, and systems used to derive benefits from nuclear energy and radiation (elibrary.bigchalk.com).” They find applications for radioactive technology, such as developing new equipment in the medical field that use radiation. In addition to the discussed usage of these applications in medicine, other uses are in power generation, and military. Nuclear engineers work in all steps of the nuclear process, from nuclear material mining until the disposal of waste (jobdescriptions.net).

    Read More

  • Knowledge Gained from Destruction

    1556 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nuclear energy has is an overall success and continues to be because it is a reliable, efficient energy source that produces minimal pollution. Although it is a efficient energy source, it is also a massive destructive force that has been used in the past and can be used in the future if not properly defended against. America today can learn from instances in the 20th century such as the atomic bomb drops, exploration of fusion reactions, the knowledge gained from the three mile island accident, and from espionage. Nuclear technology is basically that manipulation of atoms in their current state. Usually radioactive elements such as high-grade plutonium or uranium are used in order to create a massive radioactive reaction that have the potential to obliterate any object in its way leaving a lasting negative effect on the environment. Nuclear energy was mainly researched for the atomic bomb droppings that occurred in 1945 as a result of Japanese oppression during World War II. The science of atomic manipulation, atomic radiation, nuclear fission and nuclear fusion was first developed in 1895. Research began to significantly speed up when the government took a large interest in the destructive force that nuclear weapons had the potential to hold. The only reason that the world ever had the experience of nuclear energy was because of World War II and oppression. Nuclear Energy came with a price of thousands of lives, that were not rightfully taken, but without those lives lost, our world would be different today, and we continue to learn from the mistakes and from the successes that we have had with nuclear technology.

    Read More

  • Hazards Of Radiation Essay

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    Radiation is one of the most dangerous and easiest way of having health effects. Radiation was first discovered by Roentgen. Hazards are the first things people need to know in order to understand what it can do to your body. It causes many health effects on everyone out in the world. It harms people in the dentistry and field and even in the medical field. Normal people out the world can also be exposed when coming into one of these offices and getting x-rays of some type.

    Read More

  • Nuclear Energy Essay

    1871 Words  | 4 Pages

    America uses a lot of energy to supply electricity to millions of homes and businesses and needs an energy source that will supply an abundant amount of power but is also efficient. Nuclear energy is a reliable and efficient energy source that America can use. Fossil fuels and other resources used in the United States are running out or are very expensive. Nuclear power will provide a cost effective and long term power supply. America should use nuclear energy because of its many benefits which are environmental benefits, economic benefits, safety, power production, and reliability..

    Read More

More about Nuclear Medicine Research Paper

Open Document