The Death Of The Medical Physicist

Another concern that has risen from the body scan security debacle is the potential health risk that the scans may cause to the passengers, especially in cases of frequent fliers, young children, pregnant women, and the security guards that operate the machines. The scanners put out radiation much like the average X ray machines used in doctor’s offices but at much lower levels. This type of X ray scanner is called “backscatter scanners” and scans only detailed images of the outer flesh, not through the skin or showing bones like conventional X rays. Some supporters of the body scanners claim that the amount of radiation emitted by the scans is almost “insignificant” on normal adults (“Experts”). Although adequate testing has still not been completed to determine the full effects of repeated exposure, the concern still remains. Many OBGYN’s urge pregnant women to opt out of the body scans because a developing fetus is so much more sensitive to any potential harm that may be inflicted by the scanners, especially until more research has been completed (“Experts”).

"So why get registered? Let 's take for an example of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. They were not fully aware of how much radiation their brain scans were giving off and doctor 's were astonished by what they discovered. "The overdose was discovered when a patient reported lost patches of hair following a CT scan. The error remained unchecked for 18 months, involved more than 200 people, and exacerbated existing concerns that patients nationwide are being exposed to excess radiation during medical testing. Diagnostic imaging tests have increased Americans ' average radiation exposure seven times since 1980. Increased exposure leads to increased cancer risk although they claim that no one suffered any long-term damage from their overexposure at Cedars-Sinai, there’s no guarantee that this is the case. Some of the more than 200 patients affected received twice as much radiation as the average cancer patient would receive in one treatment, and these people did not have cancer cells to eradicate. And it’s already known that increased exposure to radiation increases your cancer risk. In fact, according to John Gofman, MD, PhD, there is strong evidence that 50 percent of the death rate from cancer, and 60 percent of the death rate from ischemic heart disease today are induced by ionizing radiation treatments. The concept of x-ray-induced cases means “cases that would not exist were it not for exposure to x-rays.”

But repeated exposure to radiation from the scans is believed to raise the risk for cell damage that may cause cancer and other health problems. Such risks also can exist for patients receiving radiation to treat tumors, for example...In Dr. Xu's lab, virtual patients are exposed to virtual radiation in doses similar to that of a CT scan or cancer-radiation treatment. Simulating a dose of radiation is a complicated process. It involves mapping out the physics of how radiation waves travel through the body and interact with different biological substances. Bones tend to absorb radiation; fat scatters it”(Wang). With these programs its shown they have been able to lower the amounts of radiation absorbed. One of the reasons the amount is lowering is because with these programs they are able to better diagnosis what it is, and know wether to do a procedure that uses radiation or not. Pregnant women struggle with the fact doctors are worried of hurting the child “train for certain surgical procedures by seeing and feeling organs virtually while using real tools. Doctors could be able to calculate the probability of a pregnant woman having a high-risk delivery, based on synthesized, three-dimensional images of the pelvic region and fetus”(Landro). It is increasing the likelihood of identifying issues in a

That is 4.5 years’ worth of background radiation1 (10). With pediatric patients receiving multiple exams, this amount of radiation can quickly add up and cause serious concerns later in life.

As a Radiographer, you never know when your normal work day will be affected by a cause much greater than expected. What may initially seem like a routine x-ray may turn in to an unsuspected case of child abuse. These signs should never go unnoticed or dismissed. For example, skin lesions or bruises are the

Its arrival to health care in the 70s has completely modernized diagnostic radiology and its uses continue to improve to this day. It is estimated that more than 62 million CT scans per year are currently obtained in the United States, including at least 4 million for children (1). These drastic numbers have been largely driven by advances in CT technology that make it more user-friendly for all parties

The main concept I grasped on to is that technologists should always be aware and double check their technique for all patients but especially children. This assures that no child receives too much radiation and reduces the risk of developing cancer later on from exposure. I was not aware that there are currently programs such as the “Image Gently Campaign” that are educating technologists on pediatric radiation safety. I hope programs like this continue to impact pediatric imaging and reduce the number of exams that expose children to unnecessary radiation.

This is a really good post. You explained the physical process and the definition of death extremely well. I know this is true statement because this is how determine death in medical field. Death affects everyone in different ways like physically, mentally, etc. because death is not a easy process when you lose a love one. Death can occur in infants, children, teens, and adults and most people think that when an older adult die that it’s okay, but if some is young people say it was before their time. You speak on many good points about each area of age development and what are the main causes of death. A sudden death or a death that is known to happen, such people who are ill that has been recently placed on hospice there can be

If you look at the history of medicine over the past two hundred years, you would see the advancements in all aspects. The technology and money that is spent on medical research and development is astronomical. I am going to start with a few questions, maybe they would pertain to yourself or possibly a friend or family member. What if you could have a medicine that was natural and could be organic and you could choose how you would like to ingest your medication as well? What if there was a medicine out there somewhere that would not just work for one ailment but multiple ailments? What if you could make your own medicine just as easy as growing your own tomatoes? In this day and age, a large group of people are really into natural, organic, holistic, and unprocessed items in general, whether it be food or medicine. There is a medicine that can live up to all of the questions stated above. This medicine is marijuana and there are many different forms of it. Throughout the reading marijuana may be referred to as cannabis. Marijuana has been outlawed since the mid-1930s in the United States. With multiple people backing the medicinal use of marijuana it is on the rise again of being legal. Legalization of marijuana should be granted just for the fact of its medicinal benefits.

The early studies in nuclear medicine provided a new outlook to scientists on ways for treating fatal illnesses such as cancer. Physicist Wilhelm Roentgen acknowledged, during his experiments, that he had stumbled upon the discovery, which would influence medical practices that benefited society. Roentgen’s experiments at the end of the nineteenth century laid the foundations for nuclear medicine. In 1895 while working with electricity and the effects it had on certain gasses in cathode tubes, Roentgen began to notice several anomalies. Roentgen decided to use a piece of cardboard covered with barium platinocyanide and a photographic screen to illuminate his newly found rays. Perplexed by his discovery, the physicist used the screen to conclude that the rays would pass through many objects. His development influenced the study of nuclear science in many ways; now known as the X-Ray. The X-Ray offered new techniques for observing broken bones and other medical phenomena in the early twentieth century.

Throughout the years, the medical field has evolved in so many ways and the world of radiography has been part of that evolution. Radiography has allowed professionals to enhanced diagnose by visualizing further than just with the naked eye. Professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen had a massive breakthrough on November 8, 1895 discovering x-rays. Approximately a month after his discovery, he took the first radiograph of his wife’s left hand. Unclear at first about the discover he had made, he called this new invention x-ray, using x as unknown; but his colleagues to honor him named it, roentgen ray (Jones & Thomson, 2011, p.2). This revolution allowed to developed several radiograph equipment, such as computed tomography.

X-rays were able to painlessly diagnose diseases, locate fractures, tumors, and dislocated joints. However, when x-rays were first used in the medical field, the dangers of ionizing radiation was not common knowledge and safety precautions were not enforced. Since people thought that x-rays passed harmlessly through skin like light, no one was aware of the damage it inflicted. The demand for x-rays grew, so in 1981, just under 90 years after the discovery of the x-ray, about 6 percent of the physicians in the nation were radiologists and many were not fully educated on the devastating reaction it could have on human tissue. These physicians were not only endangering their patients, but also themselves (Wasserman

The Experimenters goes in depth into the lives of twelve great chemists. Chemistry had been apart of our world since the beginning of time. Chemistry explains why the sky is blue and what makes up our very existence. The twelve chemists discussed in this novel include Antoine Lavoisier, Joseph Priestley, Jons Jacob Berzelius, Justus von Liebig, Dmitri Mendeleyev, Louis Pasteur, Marie and Irene Curie, Linus Pauling, Richard Willstatter, and Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin. Each chapter starts at their birthplace and will take you through the life of the chemist, from greatest discoveries to personal relationships. You will read about the struggles and breakthroughs each chemist

When Medicine was first invented, it probably didn’t have the same intentions as it does today. From the 19th and 20th centuries, different techniques have been developed, making the medical field easier and more beneficial. Changes in anesthesiology, diagnosis of an illness, and antibiotics have helped shape the world as it is today. Between the 19th and 20th century and now, anesthesiology, the diagnosis of illness, and antibiotics have changed dramatically.

With this stability and mass production, x-rays machines became very common everywhere. From large factories, to doctors offices, all the way to the corner store of small towns, where children and adults alike could insert a coin into a machine and view the bones in their feet. (3.) Because of their relative adolescences in the world, not much was known about x-rays or their effects on the human body. The first theories about the rays’ effects on the human body were that they had beneficial applications. With this being the only theory about their effect, widespread use went on, unmonitored, and unregulated. This unregulated use led to injuries but because of their slow onset the injuries were never attributed to x-rays. While some scientists tied certain skin burns to over exposure of x-rays it wasn’t until popular minds of the world like Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and William J. Morton expressed that they experienced eye pain when dealing with the rays for extended periods of time that people began to connect the dots and understand the negative