Nuclear Medicine Essay

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

People also benefit from atomic research in the medical field. Many people are aware of the wide use of radiation and radioisotopes in medicine. Nuclear medicine mostly uses radioisotopes which emit gamma rays from within the body. Estimates show that about one out of every three hospital patients benefits in some way from the use of nuclear medicine. Just think, every time you have an X-ray taken you are benefiting from nuclear research. Without X-rays, doctors would have a far greater time trying to set a broken bone if they even knew it was broken! Another common medical procedure that involves atomic research is the Cat-Scan. During this procedure the patient is injected with a radioactive isotope which shows the flow of blood through the

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.

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.

After World War II the United States began mass-producing radioactive isotopes. These were shipped for the use of physicians and scientists. It provided physicians with new tools for the diagnoses and therapy of disease, specifically cancer. The radioactive isotopes were also used by scientists. It enabled molecular transformations to be traced by biologists. Radioactive isotopes were however undercut in the 1950s as the dangers of low-level radiation was

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

Nuclear medicine are noninvasive and painless medical test. These scans use radioactive material called radiopharmaceuticals. There are three ways to have a nuclear medicine exam, one is a radiotracer is injected through iv, it can be swallowed, or can be inhaled as a gas which accumulates in the part of the body being examined. Some clinics use ST or MRI imaging to help produce special views known as image fusion. This allows two exams to be read on one image, making it more accurate diagnoses.

The procedures of nuclear medicine imaging are non-invasive. 1 Because of this imaging technology, different medical instruments are not used into the body while detecting or diagnosing a disease. In this way, patients do not feel any pain of the medical instruments as different radioactive materials are used to determine the disease in their body.

What I learned from our guest speaker Alan, which chose nuclear medicine as is modality, the first day you begin in nuclear medicine is by using gamma cameras (QC), to perform a radioactive trace. Before a procedure is perform on a patient, a procedure is done on the imaging unit called cobalt disk or technesium. This procedure would flush the camera source and tell you if your photomultipliers tubes are working properly for an exam. Radioisotopes are used in nuclear medicine by injecting an MVP known as phosphate into the body with the help of a syringe. In the case of a bone scan, this radioactive material called phosphate is introduced into the body and absorbed by the bones, preparing this procedure for a bone scan after three hours. Such

With the given development and current state of nuclear medicine, develop an argument for how a nuclear medicine should be used in the future.Nuclear medicine ensure an accurate medical evaluation and helps detect and evaluate diseases. Ex: Brain disorders, Heart diseases and cancer. The Nuclear medicine is relatively safe. It can be used to determine whether or not organs are functioning normally. Nuclear medicine shows whether the blood supply to the is adequate or not. It also detects cancers at an early stage and determining the extent of cancer and asses the response of cancer to treatment. They also discover whether the heart can pump blood adequately and identifying abnormal brain lesions without exploratory surgery. It detecting whether

Nuclear medicine imaging uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers that are typically injected into the bloodstream, inhaled or swallowed.

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.

When the word radiation is said most people automatically think cancer. There are many uses of radiation in medicine. There are several ways to detect forms of cancer in the body. One form of detection is having a positron emission tomography scan also knows as a PET scan. Radiation is also used as a therapy through the use of a treatment using chemotherapy. There is also a form of treatment called Radiation therapy that is used as a medical use. The journey from using radiation to detect if the body has cancer, to the treatment types of therapy using radiation evolve into the medical uses of radiation. We will explore these three subject areas and give you an insight to the uses and benefits of them PET scan, Chemotherapy treatment and Radiation therapy.

On the other hands there are many disadvantages for radiation, let’s start, radiation takes a very long time to break down, it is hazardous to the environment, and it is kept under water for a few years in metal containers, also when the radiation comes out of a nuclear power plant is it so toxic for people that are standing near it and unprotected or masked which could result in serious injury or even death. (Pros and Cons of Radiation, n.d.). Using radioactive isotopes has a very main role in the category of medication, in another meaning, it has many medical uses. One of the medical uses of radioactive isotopes is that doctors can see if tibia or also known as the shinbone has a stress fracture, but ask yourself? How can this be used? The answer is that the patient is given a small injection containing 99T Cm which is a gamma ray creator with half-life of six hours, later on, a couple of hours the patient undergoes bone imaging which will show if a stress fracture is in the patient’s shinbone or