Y9 Radioactivity Research Assessment

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

Radiometric dating is a technique that utilizes unstable isotopes of natural elements. Because these unstable isotopes eventually decay at a constant and singular rate despite any environmental changes such as temperature or moisture changes. The unit used as measurement is a half-life which is the amount of time it takes 50% of the original isotope to decay into the next isotope or daughter isotope. Basically the amount of half-lives is multiplied by the length of the half-life to estimate the age of the object being tested. Every element used has a different half-life and that makes each useful for measuring certain types of material. Some have longer a half-life and thus a longer effective dating range. Potassium-argon dating is useful for dating material that is extremely old. This method is used by geologists to replace relative ages based on rock formation with absolute ages. The dates found from the radiometric technique are accurate because the sources, the individual radioactive isotopes, are unchanging and unaffected by environmental factors. This means that the radiometric data will always be precise unlike relative dating which relies on the theory of uniformitarianism, the theory that geological history is made up of endless and uniform

Radiotherapy, also called radiation therapy, is the treatment of cancer and other diseases with radiation. Radiotherapy is used when the entire primary tumor cannot be surgically removed. Radiotherapy deposits energy

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

In nuclear medicine diagnosing techniques, a very small amount of radioactive material is introduced into the body. Because medical isotopes are attracted to specific organs, bones or tissues, the emissions they produce can provide crucial information about a particular type of cancer or disease. Information gathered during a nuclear medicine technique is more comprehensive than other imaging procedures because it describes organ function, not just structure. The result is that many diseases and cancers can be diagnosed much earlier.

Using a combination of x-rays, gamma rays, and charged particles, radiation can target the DNA molecule in a cell and directly attack it or put charged particles in the DNA molecule that will damage the DNA molecule in the cell. This mean that for medical purposes radiation can be used to kill the cancer cells. Or, sometimes even cure someone of cancer. This also means that someone could have the option for either chemotherapy and radiation instead of just chemotherapy. Also, since radiation can kill cancer cells and be used as a cancer treatment, radiation can also be used shrink tumors.

The article Radiation Protection of Medical Staff1 looks at the various occupational hazards medical imaging personnel face on a day to day basis. As technology has improved over the years, there has been an increase in the number of medical imaging procedures in which medical imaging staff must stay in the room or near the patient when the radiation exposure takes place. Because of this, medical imaging personnel could be at a substantial risk of occupational exposure to radiation and they must be aware of the proper actions and steps that are in place to keep their occupational exposure dose as low as reasonably achievable.

c/ an assessment of the importance of the technique in developing chemical understanding and as an application in other fields

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

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

One of the ways to treat the censors is by using high energy radiation, which will help to kill cancer cells and minimize the size of the tumor. It is focused on a particular area so it is a local treatment. Radiation therapy can be affected alone or with other treatment method such as chemotherapy and surgery. X-ray, gamma rays, electron, and proton are using by radiation therapy which will be delivered radiation beam to the tumor by using one of the two methods: external beam and internal radiation therapy (brachytherapy).

     Radiation is another type of treatment. Radiation therapy uses a special machine to deliver high energy rays that damage cancer cells and stop then from growing. These rays may be detected in the entire body, or they may be focused on certain area where leukemia cells are collecting.( Disease facts and statistics, 30)

X-rays and gamma rays are used in medicine to diagnose and treat diseases. X-rays are used mostly for diagnostic testing to produce images of the bones, but they are also used in chemotherapy to treat cancer. Gamma rays can kill living cells, so it is also used in chemotherapy to kill tumor cells. They are also used to kill harmful bacteria and sterilize medical equipment. Gamma rays are used a lot in nuclear medicine to detect abnormalities in the body. (“GCSE Bitesize: X-rays and gamma rays,”

“If the radiation has enough energy, it can strip electrons from atoms, creating an ion pair” (Karam, 2005). When ion pair come contact with living cells, it can damage DNA. Looking back at the objective of terrorist group, this weapon’s destruction perfectly fits their main goal. The use of radiological weapons is to create chaos within a targeted community, without killing a great deal of people or destroying structures. “Terrorist actions have tended to be aimed at producing immediate dramatic effects… It has not been the style of terrorist to kill hundreds or thousands” (Forest, Howard & Sheehan,

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.