Concepts of Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear medicine is a certain branch of medicine that uses a specific type of radiation to give out important information about how a person's specific organs work. As well as, showing the organ and treating a disease that is inside of it. When information gets viewed by special physicians, they make sure to get a quick, accurate diagnosis of what the patient's illness is right away. The main organs that can be easily imaged by the nuclear medicine is the thyroid, bones, heart, liver, lungs, and the gallbladder. There are many hospitals that use the radiation; called radioisotope, in medicines. The most common one is named Technetium-99, which is used in medical diagnostic procedures annually. Nuclear medicine was created in the 1950s by physicians

“Nuclear medicine is a highly specialized field of radiology. It requires the oral or intravenous administration of radiopharmaceuticals, radioactive isotopes combined with organ specific medications, in order to perform

Furthermore, X-ray of higher energy than required for imaging is used for radiation therapy. The radiation therapy makes use of ionization radiation (and no images) for the treatment of diseases, such as

Nuclear medicine technology has advantages and disadvantages just as any other career. Using nuclear medicine technology could diagnose a lot of harmful diseases. Also, it is more effective treatment for most categories of cancerous diseases and conditions in some medical institutions. This type of medicine technology helps physicians perform their responsibility of patients’ therapy easily; moreover, when a serious disease developed in the patient’s body, the x-rays of this medicine technology could scan the most sensitive part of the patient’s body.

Medicine has developed into an astonishing work of pure art over the years. From an old village healer crushing the simplest herbs in ancient times, to large machines administering chemical formulas to patients today. The newest addition to this artwork is Nuclear Medicine. Nuclear Medicine is a medicine that deals with the use of radioactive substances entering the body to attach/ attack cells. Whether it be to diagnose, test, or to treat, this nuclear technology has driven the medical and chemistry world into the future.

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.

Also, x rays are capable of detecting many other issues such as cancerous masses or pneumonia as well as even dental problems all of which, again, can and have saved many lives [4]. For comparison, 400 million people are subject to x rays annually, which save substantially more lives than those of which were killed in japan [5]. Radiation can also be applied, not only to see but also to save patients in that it can be used, since it damages tissues, to kill things like tumors and other potential dangerous or life threatening masses within your body. Ironically enough it kills what it causes and for purpose of numbers, women with breast cancer had a survival rate of 25.1% in 1944 that more than tripled to 76.5% in the years 1995-2004 [6]. Also, now, 67% of women receive radiation treatment after having been diagnosed and the number is increasing [6]. But, beyond the medical field there are also economical advances that are largely caused by the use of nuclear power. These include the implementation of nuclear power plants that provide the cleanest and quickest way of generating electricity [7]. Also, to again throw numbers into the equation, fossil fuels are being consumed faster than they can be produced and the fuel for nuclear reactors, Uranium-235, is only worth 20%,

I am interested in entering the field of Nuclear Medicine Technology because of my father’s medical history. My father was diagnosed in Spring of 2017 with Stage IIB Melanoma. He was accepted into a clinical trial at Emory in Atlanta, GA to hopefully “cure” him. During his clinical trial, he has routine scans that use nuclear medicine technology to be able to see his melanoma sites and the rest of his body at a higher degree then past medical advances would allow. I am one of those patient family members that like to know everything about their family members treatments, so I have asked many questions about the nuclear medicine aspect of his care plan and find it fascinating.

The nuclear medicine technologist use radionuclides to diagnose and treat diseases. Radionuclides means unstable atoms that release radiation spontaneously and they are purified and compounded to form radiopharmaceuticals that prepare and administer by nuclear medicine technologist. These technologists are particularly specialized health care professional. The radioactive drugs appear higher or lower concentration in the abnormal area of the patient’s body than in the normal area.

This type of therapy is often used as a means to treat hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer, bone metastases from prostate and breast tumors, as well as other types of cancer and diseases. It can be used alone or in combination with other therapeutic means of medicine, such as surgery or chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is used in the treatment of approximately 40% to 60% of patients who are diagnosed with cancer (Errors in Radiation Therapy, 2009). In many cases, the

Who would have thought we would be using nuclear substances for medical purposes? Well, we are many different ways. I am going to discuss a test called the Indium Scan; this test requires the use of nuclear substances being injected into the blood stream via an IV. The amount of Indium that is giving is based on the patient and what the doctor feels as appropriate.

The first question I asked Dr. Kevin was, “Is nuclear pharmacy harmful to health?” He smiled and said that basically every student will ask this question because nuclear pharmacy sounds radioactive. By showing his dosimeter on his name tag and finger, we know the amount of radiation exposure will be strictly controlled. The female student who is currently training here told us that she delivered a healthy baby last year. Different organizations will inspect the amount of radioactive particles either on lab equipment or the pig container deliver to the health organization annually. The nuclear pharmacy has spectacular applications on diagnosis for multiple disease, such as indium 111 for white blood cell scan. The half life for radioactive

Radiotracers help doctors diagnose and evaluate the degree of severity of the disease. The tracers are injected, swallowed, or inhaled. Special cameras used by the doctor to detect molecular information then detect the emissions from the radiotracers. One of the most important procedures in nuclear medicine is the MRI, or the magnetic resonance

In 2007, it is predicted that almost 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States (Pickle et al., 2007). More than half of these cancer patients will undergo the use of radiation as a means for treating cancer at some point during the course of their disease (Perez and Brady, 1998). Cancer, a disease caused by an uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells, affects millions of people around the world. Radiotherapy is one of the well known various methods used to treat cancer, where high powered rays are aimed directly at the tumor from the outside of the body as external radiation or an instrument is surgically placed inside the body producing a result of internal radiation. Radiation is delivered to the cancerous regions of the body to damage and destroy the cells in that area, terminating the rapid growth and division of the cells. Radiation therapy has been used by medicine as a treatment for cancer from the beginning of the twentieth century, with its earliest beginnings coming from the discovery of x-rays in 1895 by Wilhelm Röntgen. With the advancements in physics and computer programming, radiation had greatly evolved towards the end of the twentieth century and made the radiation treatment more effective. Radiation therapy is a curative treatment approach for cancer because it is successful in killing cancerous tumor cells and stop them from regenerating.

The use of radioactive elements in medicine is still growing to this day. Many oncologists use it to treat their patients who have cancer. Many cancer patients use this option. They use the radiation to kill off cancer cells. X-ray technicians or radiologists will also use it to administer x-rays to people who may have a broken bone, or need an MRI. The patient is injected with a radioactive material that helps the doctor be able to see inside the body better, whether it be with pictures or ultrasound. Radioactive material is defined as “material that contains radioactivity and thus emits ionizing radiation. It may be material that contains natural radioactivity from the environment or a material that may have been made radioactive.” (The Healthy Physics Society). This happens when someone needs a colonoscopy. They have to drink or are injected with this liquid that helps their organs and all other masses in the body be seen better by the radioactive materials.