Transcript Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear
Medicine
Olivia Nicholson
Sannhi Pham
Alex Bynum
Ryan Hadfeild
Olivia Nicholson
What Is It?!
 Nuclear
medicine is a branch of medicine
that uses radioactive isotopes to diagnose
and treat diseases.
Olivia Nicholson
Radiation Therapy
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Radiation is the medical use of ionizing
radiation as part of cancer treatment to
control malignant cells.
Works by damaging DNA of cells.
Sannhi Pham
Radiation: Conditions It Treats
May be used for curative or adjuvant
cancer treatment.
 Used as palliative or therapeutic
treatment.
 Commonly used for malignant tumors.
 Treats cancers of the bladder, prostate,
head and neck.

Sannhi Pham
Radiation: Exposed
Amount of radiation exposed to a person
during radiation treatment varies,
depending on type and stage of cancer
being treated.
 Radiation is
measured in gray (Gy).

Sannhi Pham
Radiation: Advantages
 The
beam used is more
concentrated in one spot to try
and spare health skin.
 Painless.
Sannhi Pham
Radiation: Disadvantages
Damage, possibly severe, to epithelial
surfaces.
 Hair loss.
 Tissues which have been irradiated tend to
become less elastic over time due to
diffuse scarring process.
 Dryness.

Sannhi Pham
Chemotherapy
The treatment of cancers or infections with
drugs that have a toxic effect on the cause
of the illness.
 Works by killing cancer cells,selectively
toxic way.
 Different from radiation therapy because it
targets specifically cancer cells, not
harming the healthy cells.

Sannhi Pham
Chemotherapy: Categories
Teletherapy
 Brachytherapy

Sannhi Pham
Chemotherapy: Advantages
Helps treat cancer effectively.
 Enables them to enjoy a full, productive
life

Sannhi Pham
Chemotherapy: Disadvantages
Low count of infection-fighting white blood
cells.
 Low count of red blood cells.
 Low platelet count.

Sannhi Pham
X-Rays
X-Rays are a type of radiation wave
 X-Rays pass through flesh but not bone
 Used medically to show bones that are
broken or dislocated
 Smaller wavelengths and more energy
than ultraviolet waves.

Alex Bynum
The Discovery of X-Rays
Found in 1895 by German physicist
Wilhelm Rontgen.
 It was an accidental discovery.
 A week later he took the
first x-ray photograph
in history.

Alex Bynum
CAT, MRI, & PET
CAT- computerized axial tomography;
x-ray photos that are in 3-Dimensional.
 MRI- magnetic resonance imaging; uses
magnetic field and radio waves and
computer to produce pictures of internal
body parts
 PET- position emission tomography;
used in imaging cellular function of the
human body.

Alex Bynum
Radiology

A branch of medicine that specializes in
the use of X-rays, gamma rays,
radioactive isotopes and other forms of
radiation that is used to diagnose and treat
diseases.
Ryan Hadfeild
Education…

Graduate from an accredited medical
school, pass a licensing examination, and
complete at least a four year medical
education.
Ryan Hadfeild
History!
1896
Discovery of radioactivity
1898
Polonium and radium
isolated.
1895
X-rays are discovered
1943
Laboratory tracers
1939
Cyclotron
1938
Technetium-99 discovered
Ryan Hadfeild
… And Beyond!
Will continue to be at the forefront of
modern clinical medicine and
technological development.
 Many possibilities have opened and will
open in the future for nuclear medicine.

Ryan Hadfeild
Summing it Up
Uses radiation to cure diseases.
 Various fields within nuclear medicine.
 Many advantages and disadvantages.
 Numerous different types of technology.
 Will be studied farther into the future and
will help many more people.
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Olivia Nicholson