Nuclear medicine By: Erin O’Reilly

Uses of Nuclear medicine  Nuclear medicine can be used to find broken bones, cancer, infections, Blood flow, Internal bleeding, blockages, over-active/under-active thyroids, Kidney Function, Breathing and Arthritis.  Nuclear medicine can be used to scan the Brain, Mouth, Thyroid, Kidney, bones, Heart, Lungs, liver, spleen and the entire body (for tumors). *check next slide for picture*

How it’s done  Radioactive material is either injected into your veins or is given orally.  The material gathers in your organs and begins to emit gamma rays.  Some times the images can be taken hours after getting the radioactivity but other times you must wait days or weeks.  A Gamma Camera can detect these rays and gives a picture of the organs and blood flow and allows you to watch as the organs function as opposed to an X-ray with just a still picture.

Picture taken with nuclear medicine

Is it dangerous?  The risks are the same as a standard X-ray.  The does of radioactive material is very small and there have been no known long term affects from nuclear medicine.  If you are pregnant it could harm the fetus so it’s best If you don’t do it while pregnant.  In rare cases people will have allergic reactions to the radioactive materials.  There will be minor discomfort from the needle for the injection and possibly from lying still for a long period (45 minutes to an hour)

How it began  Radioactivity was first discovered by Henri Becquerel and from there X-rays were discovered.  Many other discoveries about radioactivity took place until a society of Nuclear Medicine was made.  Dr. Marshall Brucer was the first Chairman of the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies where they discussed the use of Radioactivity in diagnosing medical problems.  Dr. Brucer describes the first meeting: "About 10 to 15 persons highly trained in some other branch of science tried to learn how to use radioisotopes and had a hell of a lot of fun learning."

Bibliography   &bhcp=1 &bhcp=1 &bhcp=1   _sec02_part04_page02_illustration.html