Uses of Technetium
Technetium-99m is the single most important radioactive isotope used for medical diagnostic studies. It accounts for nearly 85% of all diagnostic imaging procedures in nuclear medicine. In this application, the radionuclide is chemically attached to a drug chosen for its tendency to collect in a specific organ of the body, and this solution which is your tracer, is then injected into the patient. After a short time, an image can be collected using a radiosensitive detector such as a scintillation counter or gamma camera. This technique is useful for:
• Evaluating the medical conditions of major organs and other tissues
• Studying blood flow
• Identification of cancerous metastases
• Brain blood flow (brain scan image)
• Lung scans before and after surgery
• Identifying bone diseases and tumors.
Gamma Camera
Radionuclide imaging is the technique that allows physicians to obtain a very clear image of various parts of the body. The tracers emit gamma rays, which can be detected by a gamma camera. The information collected by this machine is reconstructed by computers to create an image of the target area of the patient's body.
Properties of Technetium-99m
Technetium-99m is one radioactive isotope of the man-made element technetium. It is the favored choice of the medical profession for several of its properties. Technetium-99m has a half-life of six hours. This is very short (compared to technetium-99 for example, which has a half-life of 214 000 years), which enables metabolic processes to be examined, while minimizing the radiation dose of the patient. This allows a patient to leave soon after the procedure is over. While decaying, technetium-99m emits only gamma rays and low energy electrons. There are n...
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...eates a problem for delivery of the isotope. This is why a parent isotope is used, as 99Mo has a longer half-life to 99mTc, and can be transported more efficiently.
Conclusion
By producing "parent" radioisotopes in a nuclear reactor, it is possible to create a vast number of "daughter" isotopes. Each of these will have different characteristics and properties, making them suitable for use in many different medical, industrial and scientific applications.
When used correctly, radioisotopes can have a number of benefits, including lifesaving medical procedures. The health risks associated with the use of radioisotopes have been widely documented and debated, and even at one point, suppressed by Congress. However, with the correct precautions these risks can be reduced or even eliminated and radioisotopes will continue to be an integral part of modern day society.
the effective doses from diagnostic CT procedures are typically estimated to be in the range of 1 to 10 mSv. This range is not much less than the lowest doses of 5 to 20 mSv estimated to have been received by some of the Japanese survivors of the atomic bombs. These survivors, who are estimated to have experienced doses slightly larger than those encountered in CT, have demonstrated a small but increased radiation-related excess relative risk for
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.
The description of PET scans in detail requires the understanding of the radioactive substance injected into the subject. First, a small amount of a biochemical substance is tagged with a positron-emitting radioisotope. A positron is an “anti-electron.” Positrons are given off during the decay of the nuclei of the radioisotope. When the positron emitted collides with an electron in the tissue of the subject, both the positron and the electron are annihilated. When this happens, the collision produces two gamma rays having the same energy (511 KeV), but going in opposite directions.
...atment is safe because radio-iodine is able to deliver a sufficient amount of radiation to the thyroid allowing to slow the hormone production, and only deliver a small amount to the body. The radiation delivered to the body is far from harmful and is only equivalent to the amount of radiation delivered from two routine diagnostic X-Ray procedures such as a gastrointestinal series ("Educational Material"). The form of treatment has been used for 35 years and over one million patients in the United States have been assisted through the treatment of radioactive iodine ablation. Most physicians will rely on this treatment and recommend 90 percent of their over active thyroid patients to receive the radioactive iodine ("Educational Material"). The treatment, till this day, is known to continuously alleviate the majority of symptoms hyperthyroidism patients have today.
Uranium has multiple isotopes, the most common isotope is uranium-238, and with uranium-235 being the most popular, but less abundant. Surprisingly, uranium is not necessary for the sustainability of life, and is not chemically toxic (Cox, ...
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...
Mining for elements that could be used as a nuclear power were very important in the Cold War. New technology and research for nuclear material was an essential part in building a nuclear weapon. The most important element for making nuclear weapons is uranium. Uranium is used to make plutonium, a very powerful element, by deuteron bombardment of uranium oxide. Uranium, a gray-colored element, is mined from the common uranium ores. Common isotopes, such as, radioactive sulfur (S35), radioactive carbon (C14), radioactive phosphorus (P32) and strontium (Sr90) were a great safety hazard towards the environment and mammals. The amount of time it takes for half the radioactive isotope to disintegrate is called half-life. "Isotopes with a short half-life, measured in seconds, hours, or days, are considered generally less dangerous to the envioronment2." Isotopes with a high half-life are very harmful to our world; for example, plutonium in one of its forms (Pu239) has a half-life of over 20,000 years. There is so much heat given off that, in power reactors, the heat is used to generate electricity. These nuclear elements, mainly plutonium, was used to make the most destructive weapons ever to be built: nuclear missiles.
Radiologic Technologists use radiation to produce images of tissue, organs, and vessels that make up the body, as well as cancer, tumors, broken bones, and tumors (Cape Fear Community College). If a person is in the medical imaging field to become a Radiologic Technologist to help people, this part of the job is what grabs their attention, because as soon as they find these problems they omit the images to a doctor that helps take care of it. Radiologic Technologist is a branch of Health Science Cluster Diagnostic services pathway (OkCollegeStart). When a person’s knows where their career choice starts it helps get a better overview of where to start and helps get them where they want to be. Radiologic Technologists review and evaluate developed x-ray, videotape, or computer generated information to determine if images are “satisfactory for diagnostic purposes” (OkCollegeStart). Persons who are more technology driven are attracted to this career because of the technology a person gets to use and process. Radiologic
To understand what a radioactive isotope is a basic understanding of the atom is necessary. Atoms are comprised of three subatomic particles : protons, neutrons and electrons. Protons and neutrons bind together to form the nucleus of the atom, while the electrons surround and orbit the nucleus. Protons and electrons have opposite charges and therefore attract one another (electrons are negative and protons are positive, and opposite charges attract), and in most cases the number of electrons and protons are the same for an atom (making the atom neutral in charge). The neutrons are neutral. Their purpose in the nucleus is to bind protons together. Because the protons all have the same charge and would naturally repel one another, the neutrons act as "glue" to hold the protons tightly together in the nucleus.
Isotopes are a different form of an element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.
Uuq-292 lost 3 neutrons, and afterwards the resulting isotope decayed further by alpha emission. 24494Pu + 4820Ca 292114Uuq 289114Uuq + 3(10n), this claims that superheavy elements can be made in the laboratory.
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...
Patton, Dennis D. (1999, July). The barium enigma. The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 7, 24N
Radiometric dating is the process of determining the age of a substance based on the ratio of isotopes in a given sample. The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom defines a particular element. However, the number of neutrons in the nucleus can vary, giving rise to different isotopes of the same element. Some of these isotopes are stable, while others are not. These unstable isotopes radioactively decay to more stable, often lighter elements, called daughter atoms, thereby releasing energy in the form of high-energy particles or electromagnetic waves.
Radiology technology is a science of using radiation to produce images. There are many jobs you can perform in diagnostic imaging usually a radiologic technologist will oft...