Medical+Uses

Medical Uses of Radiation Hope and Ciera


 * 1920's

Early radiotherapy didn't prove very effective in treating diseases such as leukemia and other forms of cancer.
 * 1936: A radioactive isotope is used to treat human disease for the first time, marking the birth of nuclear medicine.
 * One of the most common nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures is the bone scan using the isotope Tc-99m.


 * By being exposed to large amounts of radiation, it can cause diseases.


 * Medical uses of radiation include diagnosis of disease, therapy, and research. Diagnosis covers a wide range of exams from fairly routine x rays to complex CT scans and the injections of radioactive material for nuclear medicine imaging. In general, radiation therapy involves delivering a large dose of radiation to a small area of the body. Therapy is primarily directed to the killing of tumor cells as part of the treatment of cancer. Radiation therapy may also be used in the treatment of other diseases, such as coronary artery disease, by applying a large radiation dose to a small area on the inside surface of the vessel to reduce the probability that the artery will close (occlude) in the future. Radiation doses can be several millisieverts (mSv) for diagnosis and up to several sieverts (Sv) locally for treatments. The physician who prescribes radiation treatments and diagnosis weighs the risk of the radiation with the benefit of the treatment.