Question:
how do we use radioisotopes in radiography?
1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
how do we use radioisotopes in radiography?
Four answers:
son
2016-04-23 05:31:08 UTC
Making dietary changes is your first line of defense in treating hypothyroidism. Learn here https://tr.im/RIr7O



Many people with hypothyroidism experience crippling fatigue and brain fog, which prompts reaching for non-nutritional forms of energy like sugar and caffeine. I’ve dubbed these rascals the terrible twosome, as they can burn out your thyroid (and destabilize blood sugar).



1. Just say no to the dietary bungee cord. Greatly reduce or eliminate caffeine and sugar, including refined carbohydrates like flour, which the body treats like sugar. Make grain-based carbohydrates lesser of a focus, eating non-starchy vegetables to your heart’s content.



2. Up the protein. Protein transports thyroid hormone to all your tissues and enjoying it at each meal can help normalize thyroid function. Proteins include nuts and nut butters; quinoa; hormone- and antibiotic-free animal products (organic, grass-fed meats, eggs, and sustainably-farmed fish); and legumes.
2016-03-13 12:11:19 UTC
is an atom with an unstable nucleus, which is a nucleus characterized by excess energy available to be imparted either to a newly created radiation particle within the nucleus or to an atomic electron. In medicine ( curing cancers ) In Agriculture ( making new plant species ) Electricity ( nuclear power plantation ) finding geological time food preservation
2006-03-22 10:10:04 UTC
Radiography is the creation of images by exposing a photographic film or other image receptor to X-rays. Since X-rays penetrate solid objects, but are weakened by them depending on the object's composition, the resulting picture reveals the internal structure of the object.



A trace radioisotope is a radioisotope that is naturally occurring. This natural formation can be from the decay of heavier nuclei such as uranium-235 decaying into thorium-231. Natural occurrence of radioisotopes can also be driven by cosmic rays. This is the method that creates hydrogen-3 and carbon-14. Isotopes with half-lives greater than about 80 million years also remain in trace amounts from the formation of the Earth. Potassium-40 and vanadium-50 fit into this category.





ISOTOPES USED IN MEDICINE



Reactor Radioisotopes (half-life indicated)



Molybdenum-99 (66 h): Used as the 'parent' in a generator to produce technetium-99m.



Technetium-99m (6 h): Used in to image the skeleton and heart muscle in particular, but also for brain, thyroid, lungs (perfusion and ventilation), liver, spleen, kidney (structure and filtration rate), gall bladder, bone marrow, salivary and lacrimal glands, heart blood pool, infection and numerous specialised medical studies.



Bismuth-213 (46 min): Used for TAT.



Chromium-51 (28 d): Used to label red blood cells and quantify gastro-intestinal protein loss.



Cobalt-60 (10.5 mth): Formerly used for external beam radiotherapy.



Copper-64 (13 h): Used to study genetic diseases affecting copper metabolism, such as Wilson's and Menke's diseases.



Dysprosium-165 (2 h): Used as an aggregated hydroxide for synovectomy treatment of arthritis.



Erbium-169 (9.4 d): Use for relieving arthritis pain in synovial joints.



Holmium-166 (26 h): Being developed for diagnosis and treatment of liver tumours.



Iodine-125 (60 d): Used in cancer brachytherapy (prostate and brain), also diagnostically to evaluate the filtration rate of kidneys and to diagnose deep vein thrombosis in the leg. It is also widely used in radioimmuno-assays to show the presence of hormones in tiny quantities.



Iodine-131 (8 d): Widely used in treating thyroid cancer and in imaging the thyroid; also in diagnosis of abnormal liver function, renal (kidney) blood flow and urinary tract obstruction. A strong gamma emitter, but used for beta therapy.



Iridium-192 (74 d): Supplied in wire form for use as an internal radiotherapy source for cancer treatment (used then removed).



Iron-59 (46 d): Used in studies of iron metabolism in the spleen.



Lutetium-177 (6.7 d): Lu-177 is increasingly important as it emits just enough gamma for imaging while the beta radiation does the therapy on small (eg endocrine) tumours. Its half-life is long enough to allow sophisticated preparation for use.



Palladium-103 (17 d): Used to make brachytherapy permanent implant seeds for early stage prostate cancer.



Phosphorus-32 (14 d): Used in the treatment of polycythemia vera (excess red blood cells). Beta emitter.



Potassium-42 (12 h): Used for the determination of exchangeable potassium in coronary blood flow.



Rhenium-186 (3.8 d): Used for pain relief in bone cancer. Beta emitter with weak gamma for imaging.



Rhenium-188 (17 h): Used to beta irradiate coronary arteries from an angioplasty balloon.



Samarium-153 (47 h): Sm-153 is very effective in relieving the pain of secondary cancers lodged in the bone, sold as Quadramet. Also very effective for prostate and breast cancer. Beta emitter.



Selenium-75 (120 d): Used in the form of seleno-methionine to study the production of digestive enzymes.



Sodium-24 (15 h): For studies of electrolytes within the body.



Strontium-89 (50 d): Very effective in reducing the pain of prostate and bone cancer. Beta emitter.



Xenon-133 (5 d): Used for pulmonary (lung) ventilation studies.



Ytterbium-169 (32 d): Used for cerebrospinal fluid studies in the brain.



Ytterbium-177 (1.9 h): Progenitor of Lu-177.



Yttrium-90 (64 h): Used for cancer brachytherapy and as silicate colloid for the relieving the pain of arthritis in larger synovial joints. Pure beta emitter.



Radioisotopes of caesium, gold and ruthenium are also used in brachytherapy.



Cyclotron Radioisotopes



Carbon-11, Nitrogen-13, Oxygen-15, Fluorine-18:

These are positron emitters used in PET for studying brain physiology and pathology, in particular for localising epileptic focus, and in dementia, psychiatry and neuropharmacology studies. They also have a significant role in cardiology. F-18 in FDG has become very important in detection of cancers and the monitoring of progress in their treatment, using PET.



Cobalt-57 (272 d): Used as a marker to estimate organ size and for in-vitro diagnostic kits.



Gallium-67 (78 h): Used for tumour imaging and localisation of inflammatory lesions (infections).



Indium-111 (2.8 d): Used for specialist diagnostic studies, eg brain studies, infection and colon transit studies.



Iodine-123 (13 h): Increasingly used for diagnosis of thyroid function, it is a gamma emitter without the beta radiation of I-131.



Krypton-81m (13 sec) from Rubidium-81 (4.6 h): Kr-81m gas can yield functional images of pulmonary ventilation, e.g. in asthmatic patients, and for the early diagnosis of lung diseases and function.



Rubidium-82 (65 h): Convenient PET agent in myocardial perfusion imaging.



Strontium-92 (25 d): Used as the 'parent' in a generator to produce Rb-82.



Thallium-201 (73 h): Used for diagnosis of coronary artery disease other heart conditions such as heart muscle death and for location of low-grade lymphomas.







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What are radioisotopes?



Many of the chemical elements have a number of isotopes. The isotopes of an element have the same number of protons in their atoms (atomic number) but different masses due to different numbers of neutrons. In an atom in the neutral state, the number of external electrons also equals the atomic number. These electrons determine the chemistry of the atom. The atomic mass is the sum of the protons and neutrons. There are 82 stable elements and about 275 stable isotopes of these elements.



When a combination of neutrons and protons, which does not already exist in nature, is produced artificially, the atom will be unstable and is called a radioactive isotope or radioisotope. There are also a number of unstable natural isotopes arising from the decay of primordial uranium and thorium. Overall there are some 1800 radioisotopes.



At present there are up to 200 radioisotopes used on a regular basis, and most must be produced artificially.



Radioisotopes can be manufactured in several ways. The most common is by neutron activation in a nuclear reactor. This involves the capture of a neutron by the nucleus of an atom resulting in an excess of neutrons (neutron rich). Some radioisotopes are manufactured in a cyclotron in which protons are introduced to the nucleus resulting in a deficiency of neutrons (proton rich).



The nucleus of a radioisotope usually becomes stable by emitting an alpha and/or beta particle (or positron). These particles may be accompanied by the emission of energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation known as gamma rays. This process is known as radioactive decay.



Radioactive products which are used in medicine are referred to as radiopharmaceuticals.
Disillusioned
2006-03-22 10:10:09 UTC
Uses

Radionuclides are used in two major ways: for their chemical properties and as sources of radiation.



Radionuclides of familiar elements such as carbon can serve as tracers because they are chemically very similar to the non-radioactive nuclides, so most chemical, biological, and ecological processes treat them in a near identical way. One can then examine the result with a radiation detector, such as a geiger counter, to determine where the provided atoms ended up. For example, one might culture plants in an environment in which the carbon dioxide contained radioactive carbon; then the parts of the plant that had laid down atmospheric carbon would be radioactive.



In medicine, radioisotopes are used for diagnosis, treatment, and research. Radioactive chemical tracers emitting gamma rays that can provide diagnostic information about a person's internal anatomy and the functioning of specific organs. This is used in some forms of tomography single emission computed tomography and positron emission tomography scanning. Radioisotopes are also a promising method of treatment in hemopoietic forms of tumors, while the success for treatment of a solid tumors has been limited so far. More powerful gamma sources are used to sterilise syringes and other medical equipment. About one in two people in Western countries are likely to experience the benefits of nuclear medicine in their lifetime.



In biochemistry and genetics, radionuclides are used to label molecules and allow tracing chemical and physiological processes occurring in living organisms, such as DNA replication or amino acid transport.



In food preservation, radiation is used to stop the sprouting of root crops after harvesting, to kill parasites and pests, and to control the ripening of stored fruit and vegetables.



In agriculture and animal husbandry, radionuclides also play an important role. They are used to produce high intake of crops, disease and weather resistant varieties of crops, to study how fertilisers and insecticides work, and to improve the production and health of domestic animals.



Industrially, and in mining, radionuclides are used to examine welds, to detect leaks, to study the rate of wear of metals, and for on-stream analysis of a wide range of minerals and fuels.



Most household smoke detectors contain the radionuclide americium formed in nuclear reactors, saving many lives.



Environmentally, radionuclides are used to trace and analyse pollutants, to study the movement of surface water, and to measure water runoffs from rain and snow, as well as the flow rates of streams and rivers.



Natural radionuclides can be used in archaeology and in paleontology to measure ages. When radioactive carbon, for example, is in the atmosphere, it rapidly becomes separated from its decay products. Once it is bound up in a solid, such as wood or paper, its decay products must remain in place. So by measuring how much of these decay products has accumulated, one can estimate the time when the carbon was captured into solid form.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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