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The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Medicine

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Minimizing and Communicating Radiation Risk in Pediatric Nuclear Medicine The children of today are the future of the world. The health and well-being of children is one of the most important issues to many people. Nuclear medicine has become a vital tool in diagnosing and helping to treat many different diseases in the world of pediatrics. The benefits of using nuclear medicine for pediatric care are obvious. The disadvantages of using nuclear medicine surround the increased radiation exposure to the children early in life. This article goes into detail in the ways radiation exposure has increased to pediatric patients in recent years. The article also, covers how to communicate the risk to the family members of the patients and lastly, how to reduce …show more content…

Nuclear medicine is “an extremely useful diagnostic tool for the evaluation of children. It provides valuable diagnostic information that may not be easily obtained by other diagnostic imaging methods” (Fahey, Treves, & Adelstein, pp 13, 2012). Due to the usefulness of nuclear medicine it has been utilized incredibly in recent years. There are more than 60 million CT scans done yearly now and over 18 million nuclear medicine studies ( Fahey et al., 2012). The increase in use of nuclear medicine and CT has caused an increase in the exposure to adults and children alike. The radiopharmaceutical dose varies to a certain degree in adults due to patient sizes, weights and the state of the patients. “The radiopharmaceutical dose to children varies” greatly “from that to an adult for several reasons, particularly the patient size” (Fahey et al., pp 14, 2012). The doses absorbed affects children because their organs “are smaller and closer together” (Fahey et al., pp 14, 2012). Pediatric doses are obviously less than adult doses, but the dose to critical and target organs can still be high (Fahey et al.,

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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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The dangers of radiation exposure had been speculated on since shortly after Wilhelm Roentgen’s discovery. In 1916, the public was forced to realize the true dangers of radiation exposure because of Dr. Emilio Tiraboschi’s autopsy, which showed that exposure had damaged is internal organs and shrunk his

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Nuclear weapons testing, by the United States, was a regular practice on the Marshall Islands from 1946 until 1958. Castle Bravo, was the largest test ever preformed which resulted in unanticipated exposure to inhabitants on some of the surrounding atolls. The exposure to harmful radionuclides caused short-term and long-term effects to the 237 exposed occupants. The literature review pursued a) an understanding of radiation biology, b) the Castle Bravo incident, c) aftermath, and d) the negative short-term and long-term effects of radiation to children. A shocking 47% exposed were under the age of 20.

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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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Public Health Problem Radiation is described as energy that is commonly found in x-rays, nuclear power plants, radioactive materials, sunlight, and in many more sources according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, 2015). It can be used as a tool to diagnose and treat diseases. Although there are benefits of radiation, great exposure to radiation is a concern that may be linked to mutations, health problems, and even cancer. This is a problem in today’s society due to the social norms that influence the youth on beauty standards, which can lead to different forms of health issues.

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This dose was, according to current medical opinion, sufficient to cause an extra 1 in 7 risk of dying of cancer. Medical examinations carried out on adults in Rongelap between 1970 and 1974, which compared

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This is reversible and its occurrence is minimized by the use of a ‘spacer’. • Bruising and skin atrophy occur at high doses. • Inhibition of long bone growth during prolonged high dose treatment in children. • Posterior subcapsular cataracts may develop following prolonged use. 5.2.2

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“I was very afraid,” he said. “We stayed at home for a week. A man came into our house dressed in protective gear. My mother sealed the windows against the dust.” It is estimated that 100,000 people still suffer from radiation related diseases because of the testing.

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Radiomics lies at the juncture of what I believe to be extremely exciting science in the coming future of personalized medicine. This is what prompted me to approach Dr. Rivka Colen (desired mentor), of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, to conduct research in her lab. An interplay between research and clinical treatment such as the way Dr. Colen implements will be one of the grounds that I intend to structure my own practice around. The MD Anderson 1st Year Medical Student Program would help me achieve the first steps towards conducting research in my career as a physician-scientist.

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For example, while other medical imaging equipment such as a CT or MRI (pictured to the right) allow for greater resolution, nuclear medical scans yield more useful information needed to make a diagnosis, prognosis and determine appropriate treatment (Freeman, 2012). Nuclear medicine is also less expensive and may have more precise information than exploratory surgery. Finally, nuclear medicine offers the potential to identify disease in its earliest stage, often before symptoms occur or abnormalities can be detected with other diagnostic tests. For patients undergoing a nuclear medical analysis, the radiation is generally administered internally. The radiopharmaceutical agent is given to the patient orally or intravenously, as opposed to the application of external beams used in radiotherapy.

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Within the past 208 years, the advancement of new computer based technologies have made drastic changes in the medical field, increasing sophistication of scientists, and the greater availability of external funding have been primary factors in the new discoveries. Nikola Tesla’s research lead him to discovering that from 26 miles away he could light up 200 light bulbs along with that it lead him to discovering the Tesla unit which is a unit of magnetic pressure(15 Interesting Facts About the History of Radiology and Radiography). The Tesla unit is within all the equipment used in radiology to find diseases. Therefore the history of radiation, what radiation is, the safety precautions, and how radiology cures diseases are important to the radiology

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It is also described as all activities directed towards minimizing radiation exposure of patients and personnel during x-ray exposure (Ahmed, Elamin, M, & Hassan, 2015) 1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM This study is done to examine the level of knowledge regarding radiation

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After reading a few articles and doing some research on my own I have reached a valid argument to explain a few reasons why preventative measures need to be taken. In this essay I will first explain how radiation is bad for you skin and why we need to take these measures to fight for our lives. Then I will help educate you on how we can add a few things to our daily routines so we can stay healthier and happier in our everyday life.

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On of the biggest fear humans have on the idea of nuclear power is the terror of radiation; this can be easily overcome by educating the people about the method of radiation and its behavior. Some people will be surprised by the facts that radiation has been a part of our environment ever since the begging of time and that radiation in reasonable amounts can be an advantageous to our health. Therefore, radiation should not be feared need but can be controlled suitably to serve mankind in a positive

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