Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Let in nuclear medicine
Essays for nuclear medicine
Essays for nuclear medicine
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Let in nuclear medicine
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.
It was 1939 was when the use of radioisotope in medical clinics began. This radioisotope was Iodine-131 and it was used in thyroid investigations. Iodine-131 was also later used for treating hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer. After the success of using this radioisotope, other radioactive isotopes became accessible (Keevil).
Technetium-99m was used in an imaging demonstration in 1964. As a result of its favorable physical and chemical properties, it quickly became one of the most used radioisotopes for nuclear medical procedures (Keevil). This radioisotope can be found in nuclear medicine procedures that involve diagnostics of the heart, kidneys, lungs, liver, spleen, bones, and blood flow (GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy).
Radioisotopes have helped create advanced imaging techniques. Beforehand, X rays could only provide so much information such as broken bones, abnormal growths, and locating foreign objects in the body. Now it is possible to obtain much more information from medical imaging. Not only can this advanced imaging give imaging of tiny structures in the body, but it can also provide details such as cancerous cells and damaged heart tissue from a heart...
... middle of paper ...
...b. 2010: 353. eLibrary. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
"Imaging and radiology." Magill's Medical Guide, 4th Rev. ed.. 2008. eLibrary. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
Keevil, F, Stephen.. "Physics and Medicine 1: Physics and medicine: a historical perspective." Lancet 9825(2012):1517. eLibrary. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
""Magic Bullets" Against Disease." World Book Science Year. 2009. eLibrary. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
"Medical Research 2005: Seeing Beneath Our Skin: Imaging the Body." World Book Science Year. 2009. eLibrary. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
"Prostate Cancer; Fusion imaging helps target greater doses of radiation to prostate cancer cells." Cancerweekly Plus. 21 Oct. 2003: 147.eLibrary. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
"Using Monoclonal Antibodies." Hutchinson Encyclopedia. 2011. eLibrary. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
"What are the treatments for cancer?." A.D.A.M. Life's Greatest Mysteries. 2001. eLibrary. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
According to Helibron and Seidel (2011) nuclear medicine began as a simple experiment in the early twentieth century by George de Hevesy. De Hevesy started the experiment by deciding to test the effects of radiation on living things, beginning with bean plants, then onto furred animals, and then continued onto finding the effects of radiation on the human body, when he did this he became the first person to ever use radiation on a human being. He along with his partner E. Hofer, in 1931, consumed Deuterium which they had diluted with tea and found that traces of radioactivity stayed within their bodies for between eight to eighteen days. This was the first known use of radiation on humans (p. 1). This was just the beginning though, as time moved on the use of nuclear energy advanced and as it advanced it began to bleed into more subjects than those that it had been used in before, such as, nuclear medicine. Although it has its drawbacks, such as nuclear waste, there are many different benefits to nuclear medicine. Examples of such would be advances in therapy and treatment of disease...
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 gamma rays, produced by the annihilation of a positron and an electron, leave the patient’s body and are detected by the PET scanner. The detection of positron-annihilation events forms the heart of any PET scanner. In most systems, the Gamma detector is a BGO (bismuth germinate oxide) crystal, a high-density scintillator. When it is combined with high performance photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), the detection of 511 KeV gamma rays is possible.
A Growing Concern." Internet Journal of Radiology 5.2 (2007): 4. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
Cancer is a disease in which cells multiply out of control and gradually build a mass of tissue called a tumor. There has been a large amount of research dedicated to the treatment and cure of cancer. Several types of treatments have been developed. The following are just some of the major examples of cancer therapy: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biologic therapy, biorhythms, unconventional treatments, and hyperthermia. Each type of treatment is discussed in detail below.
Engel, G. L. (1977). The need for a new medical model: a challenge for biomedicine. Science, 196(4286), 129–136.
Computed tomography (CT) and Radionuclide imaging (RNI) are both a form of diagnostic imaging. Since they have been first introduced in medical imaging they both suffered a huge development over the years in terms of image acquisition and also patient radiation protection. The following essay it is going to focus on just a few important things that make CT and RNI similar and different in the same time. However this subject can be discussed in much depth, the focus is going to be on the similarities and differences of the physics imaging methods and also a small awareness of biological effects and radiation protection.
To begin with, how has technology changed the field of radiology? Since the discovery of X-radiation there has been a need and desire for studying the human body and the diseases without actually any intervention. Over the past fifty years there has been a revolution in the field of radiology affecting medicine profoundly. “The ability to produce computers powerful enough to reconstruct accurate body images, yet small enough to fit comfortably in the radiology department, has been the major key to this progress”(Gerson 66). The core of radiology’s vast development consists of four diagnostic techniques: computed tomography (CT), digital subtraction angiography (DSA), ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These methods of diagnostic imaging provide accurate information that was not seen before. Amid this information advancement, radiologists have broadened their role of diagnostician. Gerson writes, “With the advent of computer-enhanced imagery and new interventional techniques, these physicians are able to take an active part in performing therapeutic procedures”(66). A radiology breakthrough in 1972 was computed tomography discovered by Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan Cormack. Unlike standard radiography, computed tomography would spin the X-ray tube 360 degrees and inversely another 360 degrees while the patient ta...
Without the use of physics in the medical field today, diagnosis of problems would be challenging, to say the least. The world of medical imaging in particular has benefited greatly from the use of physics.
...to establish the tolerance level for radium. The center for Human Radiobiology was established in 1968 with the primary purpose of examining living dial painters.
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
Images of human anatomy have been around for more than 500 years now. From the sketches created by Leonardo da Vinci, to the modern day Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan, images have played a great role in medicine. Evolution in medical imaging brought together people from various disciplines such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, a collaboration which has further contributed to healthcare as a whole. Modern day imaging improves medical workflows by facilitating a non-invasive insight into human body, accurate and timely diagnostics, and persistence of an analysis.
Hillman, Bruce J. (1997, September 6). Medical imaging in the 21st century. The Lancet, vol. 350, p. 731.