Table of Contents
How are radioactive substances used?
Radioactive materials are used to help some researchers create and test new medicines, technologies, and procedures that benefit plants, animals and people. Research laboratories must follow strict rules to order, store, use and dispose of radioactive material.
What radioactive substances are used in medicine?
Four typical examples of radioactive tracers used in medicine are technetium-99 (9943Tc), thallium-201 (20181Tl), iodine-131 (13153I), and sodium-24 (2411Na). Damaged tissues in the heart, liver, and lungs absorb certain compounds of technetium-99 preferentially.
How is radioactivity used in medical treatment?
Nuclear medicine procedures help detect and treat diseases by using a small amount of radioactive material, called a radiopharmaceutical. Some radiopharmaceuticals are used with imaging equipment to detect diseases. Radiopharmaceuticals can also be placed inside the body near a cancerous tumor to shrink or destroy it.
What is radiation used for in medical?
Medical radiation is used for x-rays, CT scans, and other tests, as well as for radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is used to treat some types of cancer and involves dosages many thousand times higher than those used in diagnostic x-rays.
How is radioactivity used in medical imaging?
Nuclear imaging is used to study organ and tissue function. A tiny amount of a radioactive substance is used during the procedure to assist in the exam. The radioactive substance, called a radionuclide (radiopharmaceutical or radioactive tracer), is absorbed by body tissue.
What is radioactive medicine used for?
Nuclear medicine procedures are used in diagnosing and treating certain illnesses. These procedures use radioactive materials called radiopharmaceuticals. Examples of diseases treated with nuclear medicine procedures are hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer, lymphomas, and bone pain from some types of cancer.
Where is radiation used in medicine?
What are sources of radiation in a healthcare setting?
Today, in the US, medical procedures from ionizing radiation account for 51% of our average annual dose from radiation (the other 49% is from naturally occurring sources such as cosmic rays, radon, and soils).
Why is radioactivity important in medicine?
Radiation is used in monitoring the response of tumors to treatment and in distinguishing malignant tumors from benign ones. Bone and liver scans can detect cancers that have spread to these organs. Half of all people with cancer are treated with radiation, and the number of those who have been cured continues to rise.
What are the five sources of radiation used in the health sector?
The following information briefly describes some examples of human-made radiation sources:
- Medical Radiation Sources.
- Consumer Products.
- Atmospheric Testing of Nuclear Weapons.
- X-ray Machines.
- X-rays.
- High Energy X-ray Machines and/or Accelerators.
- Sealed Sources.