Nuclear energy can be utilized as a medical diagnostic and treatment option. Physicians utilize radioactive tracers to image internal organs and gain additional information that would not otherwise be available through other imaging technologies.
Radiation sterilizes food and medical equipment without using harsh chemicals or extreme temperatures, protecting historic objects from microbe growth as well.
Nuclear medicine provides many valuable applications in medicine; however, the field is currently facing significant obstacles due to deteriorating infrastructure and decreased federal research support.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is an effective, noninvasive solution to numerous medical issues, including cancers and tumors, as well as some endocrine conditions like hyperthyroidism and neuroendocrine tumors. Radiation can be given before or during chemotherapy to reduce side effects; after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells or eliminate metastases.
Certain radioisotopes emitting powerful radiation can effectively attack cancerous tissue without harming other areas. One popular technique, known as ablative radiation, involves irradiating an area around a tumor to stop its progression or completely destroy it; another approach uses large cobalt-60 sources as an additional gamma-ray source to destroy cancerous tumours that have not responded to other treatments.
Given that each organ in our bodies behaves differently from a chemical standpoint, doctors and chemists have identified various substances which are easily absorbed by certain tissues or blood vessels – information used by radiopharmacists to design “tracers” which provide targeted radiation doses directly into diseased parts of the body.
As an example, thyroid cells absorb iodine while brain cells consume glucose; once inside, these tracers can be attached to radioisotopes for injection and used by special cameras to detect radiation emitted by these tracers in real time. Physicians then use these images to locate tumours as well as study processes within other bodily systems like heart, lung, liver and kidney functions as well as blood circulation patterns and bone structure.
Boron neutron capture therapy provides more targeted alpha radiation doses to tumours due to the unique property of boron-10 radioisotope; its boron atoms attract cancer cell DNA with incredible force, producing high-energy alpha particles that target and destroy tumours.
Nuclear medicine researchers are striving to enhance radionuclide production, chemistry and automation processes. Such advances would reduce costs associated with radionuclide production while making possible molecularly targeted tracers that may improve diagnosis and treatment of diseases like certain forms of cancer and neuroendocrine tumours.
Imaging
Nuclear medicine has seen rapid expansion. Its diagnostic procedures rely on radioisotopes that emit gamma rays to identify organs or tissue locations using tracer injection or inhalation; then the radiation produced by that tracer collects in tissue that’s being studied while being registered by a device known as a gamma camera, then registered again so a computer can create two-dimensional or, sometimes three-dimensional images of whatever organ or tissue being examined.
Nuclear imaging provides physicians with an invaluable tool for medical diagnosis. By showing the metabolic processes taking place within organs and tissues, nuclear imaging provides doctors with more complete information on the function of tissues or organs being assessed compared to standard X-rays that only show their anatomical structure. Nuclear imaging gives a detailed account of how organs and tissues operate compared to an anatomical view alone.
Nuclear imaging can also serve an evaluation function beyond diagnostic applications, providing useful data about treatment success. A radioisotope such as fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) can be used to examine blood flow to areas like the brain, liver and heart; determine tumor growth; as well as assess blood vessels around organs like the heart. Results of such tests can be compared with similar assessments conducted on patients treated through other methods like surgery or drugs.
Information gathered through these tests can help doctors select the most appropriate therapy for each patient and predict how they might react to other forms of treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Nuclear medicine brings together various disciplines, including chemistry, physics, engineering, computer technology and medicine. Its applications result from years of federal support for basic scientific research in areas like chemistry and nuclear and particle physics (through previous agencies such as DOE’s Atomic Energy Commission or Energy Research and Development Administration).
To realize the promise of nuclear medicine, our nation needs to continue creating new radiotracers, multimodality imaging devices and related technologies – such as investing in accelerators and nuclear reactors to increase domestic production of medical radioisotopes.
Sterilization
Each year, over 10 million patients take advantage of nuclear medicine diagnostic and treatment procedures. This form of medicine uses radioisotopes or tracer molecules injected, swallowed, inhaled, or attached to small devices – then monitored using special imaging equipment – in order to create images of organs and tissues inside their bodies.
Pictures taken using radioisotope imaging help physicians assess how well your organs and tissues are working. Diagnostic procedures involve injecting or infusing small amounts of technetium-99m or Tc-99m into you for injection or infusion; then using a camera sensitive to gamma radiation detection, these pictures show where and activity of this radioisotope in your body – giving doctors valuable insight into whether a tumor is growing or blood vessel is blocked.
Radioisotopes may also be used to treat cancerous growths or diseases, like thyroid gland cancer. Radioactive iodine may also be used as part of treatment plans; radioisotopes can also be used to eliminate other cancerous growths by using high-energy radiation against them.
Cobalt-60 (Co-60), produced at nuclear power plants and sold specifically for medical use, is one of the most frequently employed radioisotopes for therapy purposes. Low-specific activity Co-60 is widely used for sterilizing instruments and brachytherapy applications while high specific activity versions are often utilized in radioactive iodine therapy and certain cancer treatments.
Nuclear medicine treatments produce waste products that must be safely disposed of, including radioisotopes that pose no immediate health or environmental risks, equipment and materials used during procedures and any waste generated during procedures themselves. Specialized services are responsible for collecting and storing this waste – typically offsite from communities – before disposing it according to federal regulations that ensure its disposal safely and in line with safety standards for personnel as well as the environment.
Agriculture
Nuclear technology has numerous applications outside the realm of electricity production in power plants. Radioisotopes and radiation play an essential role in medicine, food safety, research, transportation and agriculture – among many others.
Nuclear energy proponents claim their industry is environmentally-friendly as it releases few pollutants; however, critics point out that it requires large amounts of water and creates waste that contaminates soil or the environment; furthermore, waste storage facilities may leak or erode.
Nuclear plants are considered potential targets for terrorist attacks and should remain vigilant against potential accidents such as Chernobyl. An attack could potentially cause the core to melt, releasing potentially lethal radiation into the atmosphere.
Nuclear energy remains popular due to its numerous advantages. It provides much of the world’s low-carbon electricity while simultaneously cutting greenhouse gas emissions; nuclear plants produce far less carbon dioxide than their coal counterparts and don’t rely as heavily on carbon-intensive fuel cycles for operation.
As the nuclear industry prepares to replace ageing power plants with modern nuclear reactors, researchers are developing innovative new types of reactors as well as exploring methods of improving nuclear fission for greater efficiency and safety.
Nuclear energy provides many other environmental advantages besides medicine. It offers an alternative to fossil fuels like coal and oil. Nuclear plants don’t release carbon oxides or nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere; however, they require large amounts of water for cooling purposes.
Nuclear technology is most often associated with electricity generation by splitting atoms of uranium – but its benefits extend far beyond this! Medical isotope production and food irradiation to kill bacteria are two other significant uses. Many people may be surprised to learn of all its varied applications – the nuclear energy industry is becoming an integral part of international efforts to reduce hunger and malnutrition, improve environmental sustainability, and guarantee food supplies through projects implemented jointly by International Atomic Energy Agency and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to accomplish these objectives.
