Medical Applications for Nuclear Phenomena (Treatments)
Nuclear phenomena has made an outstanding influence on our lives, but the usage of nuclear physics to treat what had been deemed untreatable before is just one of the many examples of modern physics being used to improve the daily lives of people everywhere. As the use of nuclear phenomena in treatments becomes more and more sophisticated through the combined efforts of biomedical engineers and physicists, other usage and new treatments ideas crop up, helping improve medical treatments and eventually, being effective enough to completely cure people from malignant tumors, cancerous tumors, lesions, and other afflictions. Although the usage of nuclear radiation in medicine has many positive
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Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals are used for the treatment of lesions, thyroid cancer, bone tumors, and has provided a unique way to kill cancer in general by manipulating the immune system’s antibodies (cancer.org). The use of therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals has become more common, as the pharmaceuticals make the radiation very local, so normal tissue is spared, and (for cancer treatment) can change antibodies so that cancer cells are recognized (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). This innovation in nuclear medicine has gone largely unnoticed, as the pharmaceuticals quickly become very expensive and can take a while to treat, and radiation therapy is a much preferred alternative. Due to these setbacks, therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals are only used for bone tumors and thyroid cancer, and sometimes even less specific kinds of brain cancer. However, it is still a huge part of nuclear medicine, and definitely has influence on the …show more content…
Most of this criticism stems from the memory of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where many Japanese people lost their lives and continue to lose their lives today from radiation left behind by the bombs. Many critics of these treatments remember these bombings and have heard about Japanese survivors becoming disfigured and dying horrible deaths due to overexposure to nuclear radiation, without realizing that the amount of radiation the people dying were exposed to is 4 million µSv introduced throughout the entire body (LA Times). Radiation treatments use about 5x that amount of radiation, using 60-80 Gys (Grays) of radiation to essentially disintegrate tumors (news-medical.net). Although that sounds terrifying, the radiation is narrowed into one (or a few), very accurate beam(s), so that none of the radiation can irradiate any other part of the body, and once the tumor is gone, the tissue can heal back normally. Unfortunately, many people doubt the credibility of these claims, and continue to denounce the usage of nuclear phenomena in medicine, as the memories of nuclear bombings, despite being a completely different use of nuclear physics altogether, will not be disassociated from the subject for a very long
The role of the radiologist is one that has undergone numerous changes over the years and continues to evolve a rapid pace. Radiologists specialize in the diagnoses of disease through obtaining and interpreting medical images. There are a number of different devices and procedures at the disposal of a radiologist to aid him or her in these diagnoses’. Some images are obtained by using x-ray or other radioactive substances, others through the use of sound waves and the body’s natural magnetism. Another sector of radiology focuses on the treatment of certain diseases using radiation (RSNA). Due to vast clinical work and correlated studies, the radiologist may additionally sub-specialize in various areas. Some of these sub-specialties include breast imaging, cardiovascular, Computed Tomography (CT), diagnostic radiology, emergency, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), musculoskeletal, neuroradiology, nuclear medicine, pediatric radiology, radiobiology, and Ultrasound (Schenter). After spending a vast amount of time on research and going to internship at the hospital, I have come to realize that my passion in science has greatly intensified. Furthermore, both experiences helped to shape up my future goals more prominently than before, which is coupled with the fact that I have now established a profound interest in radiology, or rather nuclear medicine.
...d them to end the war with Japan. But not only did they create bombs, but they also found a new way to power the spreading cities of America. Also, even though many knew the power of a nuclear bomb, they couldn’t have predicted the lasting effects on the land and the people. So within this scientific experiment we have learned that nuclear radiation can cause genetic mutations, the formation of cataracts, leukemia, and a shortened life (Document I).
At this day in age we are constantly trying to improve the field of medicine in any way that we possibly can. We cherish every birthday and continually try to prolong life. Not only through every field of medicine, especially in terms of cancer. The American Cancer Society is “the official sponsor of birthdays” and is making leaps and bounds in the types of care that cancer patients receive. One of these many breakthroughs is the practice of Stereotactic (Body) Radiotherapy or S(B)RT. SBRT and other radiation therapies have the ability to greatly improve the way that we treat the issue of cancer and the variation of treatment options; however, they have raised the concerns of long term effects from radiation and cost-effectiveness. As research has begun to show, radiation therapies are having great success in curing cancer.
“External radiation uses a machine that directs high-energy rays from outside the body into the tumor and some normal nearby tissue.” (American Cancer Society p. 5) After this treatment the patient will not be radioactive, but treatment is delivered in small doses and can last several weeks. “Internal radiation or brachytherapy, uses a radioactive source, called an implant, that’s put inside the body in or near the tumor.” (American Cancer Society p. 9) It may be placed in an organ or in the cancerous tumor. The patient will be radioactive for a short time. Due to the implant being near the source of cancer a larger dose can be delivered to the patient. “Systemic radiation uses radioactive drugs to treat certain type of cancer.” (American Cancer Society p. 12) The drugs used are called radiopharmaceuticals and can be delivered orally or intravenously. “They collect where the cancer is to give off their radiation and kill the cancer cells.” (American Cancer Society p. 12) After this treatment the patient will be radioactive, and will take a few days to be removed from the patients
Nuclear energy is used today for energy supply and about 15% of the world’s energy comes from nuclear power plants some forms of medicine such as nuclear medicine rely solely on nuclear technology. This technology was developed through the process of creating the first atomic bomb and would not exist if not for the advancements made during the Manhattan project.
If one is affected by cancer, there are treatments to help take away this illness affecting their body. This essay is about a specific type of treatment for cancer, radiation therapy. There are different types of forms of particles for radiation, for example, protons and waves like x-rays and visible light. These types of radiations are grouped on how much energy they contain because they can cause different effects. A low type of energy radiation can be radio waves and heat, also known as non-ionizing radiation.
Another treatment that is used to help a cancer patients overcome the disease is radiation therapy. Although very affective and used commonly, thi...
In the end we can conclude that radiation therapy has it’s benefits and it’s drawbacks. We can see the drawbacks of radiation therapy don’t outweigh
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.
Radiation therapists work closely with patients to fight cancer. According to Health Care Careers, Oncologists, Dosimetrists and nurses are some of the professionals that a radiation therapist works with while caring for a cancer patient. This group of professionals will determine a specialized treatment plan. The first step usually includes a CT scan performed by a radiologist to find the exact area that needs to be targeted with x-rays. Next, the therapist uses a special machine that emits radiation called a Linear Accelerator. They use this machine during a treatment called external beam therapy. During this process, the Linear Accelerator will project x-rays at targeted cancer cells or tumors. Another therapist will be in a different room monitoring the patient’s viral signs until the procedure is over. The external therapy l...
"Prostate Cancer; Fusion imaging helps target greater doses of radiation to prostate cancer cells." Cancerweekly Plus. 21 Oct. 2003: 147.eLibrary. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
All of those individuals are wrong because there is long term and you still get effect if you are not close. All of this because of radiation exposure and it could cause plenty kind of cancer or even more then one at the same time. Also it better to died by the explosion then suffer and feel pain when dying with cancer.“They are a type of weapon that countries spend enormous sums of money to develop but don’t actually intend to use”(Friedman,Snyder,and Ligon). The author is trying to explain how bomb are completely useless and they just waste a bunch of money. Bomb’s are not supposed to be use but people waste money to make something that they are not supposed to use and hopefully will not use. Why would people waste money into something that cause much pain and deaths and the whole point is that everyone wants to be powerful. In the society today has made a lot of things for safety related with bombs and there no purpose because bombs just cause trouble to our economy. Where the government could giving that money to people who need it instead of bomb’s that will not be used. “The development of nuclear warheads becomes a nation's show of
“The half-life of a radioisotope is the time required for half the atoms in a given sample to undergo radioactive decay; for any particular radioisotope, the half-life is independent of the initial amount of...
External radiation is used to treat large areas of the body and can treat more than one area at a time. Internal radiation or Brachytherapy is a seed implant that is placed it into the person body to the affected area. They place it there permanently or temporarily and this radiation gives off high doses to the cancerous area it slowly releases the radiation over month and within a year it decays this type of radiation therapy is often used in breast cancer, lung, prostate, neck and head, perianal, cervical, ovarian,
Nuclear medicine is very important to medical world today. Nuclear medicine is a branch of medicine that uses radioactive substances/chemicals in diagnosis, research, and treatment. Nuclear medicine is very safe and painless which is why it is used today. This is a new way of treating or finding abnormalities and sickness that was not used years ago because it was not as prominent or did not even exist. Nuclear medicine is used in hospitals all over the world today. Because of the use of nuclear medicine, we are able to identify problems in the body before they become worse or even cause death. Nuclear medicine has saved millions upon millions of lives. Nuclear medicine is very important; without it we would have a harder time understanding