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Ct Scans : The Applications And Opportunities That A Ct Scan Offers Worth Negatives And Risks

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Question: What is a CT scan? Are the applications and opportunities that a CT scan offers worth the negatives and risks that come along with it?
Introduction:
A CT scan, also known as computed tomography, utilises the computed compiling of many X-rays taken from all different directions around an object in order to form tomographic images of precise areas of the object, allowing one to see inside the object without incision. Because of the involvement with gamma rays in the process of a CT scan, there is an, albeit small, increase in the risk of developing cancer every time a scan is performed. This small payoff is almost always worth it, as CT scans play a huge part in not only modern medical imaging, but has more recently been …show more content…

Discussion:
A gamma ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation that consists of high-energy protons due to its extremely high frequency wavelengths. Gamma rays ionizing radiation, meaning that they are hazardous because they carry enough energy to free electrons from atoms and molecules, this, in turn, gives them higher penetrating power than any other form of radiation. Another type of electromagnetic radiation is X-radiation, which shares the name of its components, X-rays, with the well-known medical imaging method. While these two are scientifically classified as separate forms of radiation, they are extremely similar to the point where there is only two known ways to determine if the radiation being emitted is one or the other, and both of these methods have cases where there are exceptions. The first method is to compare where the radiation is originating from, with regular gamma rays coming from the nucleus of an atom and X-rays being emitted by electrons. This method has two primary issues, being that 1- the precise point of origin cannot always be pinpointed and 2- that there are actually a number of much less common processes that can produce the same high-energy photons. The second method is to determine the variant of rays by the wavelength of the radiation, with any wavelength shorter than some

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