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Nuclear Medicine Outweigh The Negative Effects Of Nuclear Technology

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The benefits of nuclear medicine outweigh the negative effects of nuclear technology. Nuclear technology is used in many ways that benefit the economy and the lives of many despite its risks and misuse in the past. Other than the production of electric energy in power plants, nuclear power is also used for medicine, which allows the treatment and diagnosis of many diseases. Nuclear medicine has saved many lives and is unequivocally a benefit to society. Furthermore, with the contribution of nuclear reactors and nuclear studies, nuclear medicine is able to be safe, reliable, and useful.

CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) [1] reactor is nuclear reactor that is substantially important to nuclear medicine. To begin with, Nuclear medicine is a …show more content…

Nuclear risks and effects such as nuclear radiation accidents, radioactive waste, and creation of nuclear bombs, have shown disadvantages to humans and mother nature [9]. Radioactive waste consists of a radioactive nuclear substance [9] that has spent 3 or more years in a reactor and can be crucially dangerous if handled incorrectly when disposing, as it can release radiations [9]. Moreover, the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 is also an example of a nuclear radiation accident and resulted in the death 30,000 people [11]. Many are also still suffering with the health consequences from the nuclear waste catastrophe [9]. Additionally, the effects of the nuclear bombs that were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II critically impacted the lives of many as well as the environment due to the death of many and destruction of cities in Japan [9]. The radioactive particles in nuclear fallouts in the form of dust goes into the soil and stays for a long period of time which is a huge health risk because people can get exposed to them [11]. Furthermore, these emitted radiations impact humans because they can weaken and break up DNA, by damaging cells that can kill them or cause mutation which can lead to cancer [12]. Altogether, these negative consequences of nuclear technology show that nuclear power can significantly affect many …show more content…

As mentioned earlier, nuclear medicine is a medical specialty used to help provide diagnosis and treatment for disease [13]. Nuclear medicine uses radiology and diagnostic, medical imaging in order to visualize and detect abnormality in body functions and metabolism [5]. Nuclear medicine has two main types of techniques which are diagnostic and therapeutic [2]. The diagnostic procedure uses PET (positron emission tomography) scans and SPECT (single photon emission tomography) scans. During this procedure, small amounts of radioactive materials (called radiotracers) are injected, inhaled, or swallowed into the body of a patient [2]. Fortunately, the amount of dosage used in these procedures are considered to be safe [1]. After ingestion, the radiotracer accumulates in the organ or body part that is being examined [2]. The radioactive material emits radiation in the form of gamma rays which are recorded and detected by special cameras to provide in-depth images of the body or organ [14]. Different isotopes concentrate in certain organs. [13] This provides the visualization and the detection of abnormality in the body or organ which is then used to diagnose [14]. Moreover, radiation therapy is used to treat cancer by using radiation to destroy cancer cells [1]. In this procedure, patients are given extremely high doses of radioisotope in order to damage the affected

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1. Write a brief introduction about the diagnostic imaging modality. Nuclear medicine is a section of medical imaging that uses radioactive medication known as radiotracers or radiopharmaceutical (Understanding nuclear medicine, 2009). Radiotracers are given to the patient through injection, swallowing or inhalation, which makes the body radioactive for a short time. The radiation is detected by a special camera, and then the image is produced.

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As radiation dose increases, the cancer risk increases in a fairly predictable manner.” (Karam, 2005). Some specific isotopes pose a health risk. The biological processes tend to concentrate certain chemicals in certain organs. A Nuclear explosion would complicate issues not only due to the explosion, but the wounds caused and later fallout issues.

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Nuclear expositions produce radiations and the radiations can harm the cells of our body which can lead to a severe sickness or even kill us humans. Radiation is the emission of energy as electromagnetic waves which cause ionization. Radiation sickness is caused by exposure to a high dose of radiation. When these particles come into contact with organic material, they will damage them, causing burns and cancer. Exposure to radiation makes our bodies produce fewer blood clotting agents, called blood platelets, increasing our risk of internal bleeding.

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Nuclear medicine uses small amounts of radioactive materials that are injected into your bloodstream to detect early stages of many diseases.4 This type of procedure works in a very complex way compared to a typical X-Ray examination. The procedure uses radioactive material, usually referred to as a radiotracer which is injected in many different ways. The material then accumulates in the part of the body which is being examined and gives off a source of Gamma Rays. Distinct cameras and computers develop photographs that offers information to the doctors on functions of the organ being tested.4 Due to many instances doctors have come up with many benefits to nuclear medicine to patients. Some of these most important benefits consist of nuclear medicine being less expensive and giving as concise information as exploratory surgery, this medicine offers the potential to detect a disease at its earliest stages, they yield important information to help doctors easily develop a diagnosis or what type of treatment to give to the patient, and nuclear medicine provides information on anatomic structure and functions of the body that is unattainable from other imaging technologies.

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Nuclear power is a very big problem to this very day, the radioactive waves it projects cause residual damage way after the initial impact. Nuclear bombs are a very deadly weapon and kill many with their impact and residing effects like radiation. Causing cancer and other cell mutations in a human or animal body. The first nuclear bomb was approved to be created by President Roosevelt and created in the 1940’s by Julius Robert Oppenheimer, there were a few trials to test it but the final result was a gun-type uranium bomb named “the little boy”. This bomb was used in Hiroshima, Japan August 6th, 1945, causing many lives to be taken.

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Due to medical advances, doctors can identify diseases before they become a problem and treat them effectively. “Disease is a biological process, and nuclear medicine provides images of these processes.” Most radiotracers interact with a biological process and emit radiation. Detector systems collect these signals, and computer programs rebuild them into diagnostic images. Nuclear medicine differs from other imaging techniques which visualize structure and shape (anatomy) versus a biological process (physiology)(U.S. Department Converting Energy to Medicine).

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Nuclear Medicine: Do the Negatives Outweigh the Positives? Nuclear medicine has been around for a long period of time and improvements are constantly being made to its procedures but one question still remains prominent: do the negatives outweigh the positives? Before beginning to evaluate this question by looking at the particular risks and benefits in procedure and production, it’s necessary to understand the basics of nuclear medicine. Nuclear medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the use of radioactive substances in research, diagnosis, and treatment. It works by small radioactive materials being either injected into the bloodstream, inhaled, or ingested by the patient to either treat or determine a disease.

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Medical imaging refers to any process in a medical setting where the body is imaged to diagnose non-superficial injury or disease. The professional of medical imaging involves a variety of imaging techniques, two of the most common being Computed Tomography (CT), and Ultrasound scans. Medical imaging can be used for diagnostic (CT/Ultrasound) or therapeutic purposes, as is the case with Radiation Therapy which using ionising radiation to control malignant cells. Furthermore, medical imaging modalities can be further divided into Ionising radiation and non-ionising radiation imaging techniques. It is these radiation properties that determines the safe proximity a medical practitioner can be in relation to a scan when it is being performed.

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Introduction Nuclear medicine at first sounds like something dangerous and should not be used on the human body. However, it is a significant part in the development of medicine. Problems inside the body are going undetected because most of the time they do not have any severe symptoms until it is too late to treat, and x-rays and scanners that use radiation to look through the body are dangerous because they may emit too much radiation on the patient, causing issues in the future. This is where nuclear medicine comes in as a better solution. Over 10,00 of hospitals worldwide use radioisotopes in medicine, and around 90% of the procedures are for diagnosis.

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Nuclear medicine is a type of medicine that uses radiation to work. By using this method, doctors can diagnose diseases such as cancer and neurological disorders and it can tell them what stage, the severity, etc. patients

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Isotopes can be used for the treatment of previously “incurable” diseases. Medical isotopes can be used for more than just cancer. Cardiovascular disease has been proved to be affected by isotopes. They effectively prevent the clogging of arteries when used in conjunction with angioplasty. In Europe, rheumatoid arthritis is commonly treated with the use of injecting medical isotopes.

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It is a technique of imaging the parts of body like various organs, bones, brain, etc. by using small doses of radioactive chemical particles which depends on the part of body is introduced for scanning. A Radionuclide is also known as a radioisotope which is a chemical and emits radioactivity known as gamma rays. A very little amount of radionuclide is inserted into the body by various ways like it is injected into the vein,

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During simulation, detailed imaging scans show the location of a patient’s tumor and the normal areas around it. These scans are usually computed tomography (CT) scans, but they can also include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and ultrasound scans. After simulation, the radiation oncologist then determines the exact area that will be treated, the total radiation dose that will be delivered to the tumor, how much dose will be allowed for the normal tissues around the tumor, and the safest angles (paths) for radiation delivery. Radiation can come from a machine outside the body which is called as external-beam radiation therapy or from radioactive material placed in the body near cancer cells which known as internal radiation therapy. Radiation therapy can cause both acute and chronic side effects.

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Around 500 000 patients benefit from radiation therapy produced by only Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization each year, which means it serves as an effective way to get rid of cancer cells. On the other side, as everything has its own negative aspects, radiation therapy also has some disadvantages like killing the healthy cells and causing second cancer. For this reason, in my research I am going to answer the question if it’s worth using radiation therapy in cancer treatment – or no. First of all, it’s necessary to look how the radiation therapy works. There are two ways of radiation treatment:

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The information obtained may furnish the diagnosis of many diseases, serve as guide to therapy and as an indicator of harmful effect of radiotherapy and chemotherapy (Tatsumi etal , 2002 )

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