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

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.

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.

Being a nuclear medicine technology means creating images of different area of the patient’s body and preparing radioactive drugs and administer them to patients undergoing the scans. The technologists

Therapeutic nuclear medicine has come a long way over the last decade. More than 20 million Americans now benefit each year from nuclear medicine procedures used to diagnose and treat a wide variety of diseases (SNMMI and Safe/Beneficial Medical Uses of Radiation, 2017).

Radiology represents a large branch of medicine that deals with radiant energy in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Within this field there are multiple modalities that all incorporate some level of radiation. For example, in radiation therapy, targeted energy is used eliminate cancer cells, shrink tumors, and ease the pain or discomfort of cancer related symptoms. The purpose of this paper will primarily be focusing on radiation therapy.

Nuclear medicine is traced back to all sorts of sciences like physics, engineering, and chemistry. It is said that John Lawrence is the father of nuclear imaging because he was the first person ever to treat a leukemia patient with a radioisotope. From then on, a number of doctors experimented with patients with blood disorders and cancer by use of radioisotopes and were successful as well. One doctor’s procedure to halt the growth of cancer on the thyroid became the turning point in medical history. The beginnings of organ screening, for example PET scans, were born.

Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical science, which uses small amounts of radioactive materials in order to diagnose and treat diseases. These diseases include cancers, heart diseases, and other irregularities in the body. The nuclear medicine is injected into the blood stream in order to identify potential diseases. There are over forty million nuclear medicine procedures preformed each year through radiation, or the energy in form of waves or high speed particles. The use of nuclear medicine allows the treatment of diseases without surgery. This form of treatment causes only minimal damage to the tissues surrounding cancerous cells.

It offers the potential to identify disease in its earliest stage often before symptoms occur or abnormalities can be detected with other diagnostic tests. It helps determine most useful and beneficial treatments needed. And nuclear medicine is less expensive and may yield more precise information than exploratory surgery. There are almost no risks and the risks that are there are pretty much harmless. In simple terms the patient is being exposed to radiation, but its very small amounts which make it virtually harmless. Nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures have been used for more than five decades and there are no known long term adverse effects from such low dose exposure. Injection of the radiotracers may can cause swelling, redness and slight pain which will rapidly dissolve. Nuclear medicine has little to no limitations and that's why it should be put out there more and be more understandable, it can benefit so many people but it's just not as big as some other procedures that are out

I have witnessed people struggle through hardships due to disease, or some other medical condition, whether they be a stranger on the street, or even in my own family, which has prompted me to aid those in need by becoming a physician. I chose this career to due to my passion for aiding those in need, and attentiveness while performing duties, which will prove vital in this career. Furthermore, I greatly enjoy both science and mathematics, specifically in the field of atomic physics. Understanding the radionuclides, and the effects of them will be extremely important in the career. My love of physics, medicine, and my attentiveness, along with my urge to aid those in need is what prompts me to become a professional in radioactive medicine. For these reasons, I have chosen to become a Nuclear Medicine

The PET is used when the doctor has to inspect the blood flow, oxygen intake and metabolism of the tissues and organs. PET scan is commonly used to observe the growth of cancer cells, to observe the heart, the brain. PET scan is also able to trace neurological disorders such as Alzheimer and evaluate strokes.3,4

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.