Term Papers on Nuclear Medicine Technology

Term Paper Title	Nuclear Medicine Technology
# of Words	1084
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.34

Nuclear Medicine Technology

Eng101

            Nuclear Medicine is a profession developed as a product of the atomic age.  Nuclear Medicine Technology is one of the most advanced diagnostic technologies in today’s medical field.  The discipline of nuclear medicine began after radium was discovered almost a century ago.  Following World War II, physicians recognized the potential medical implications of radium and developed artificial radio nuclides.  Since this development the field of nuclear medicine has become a very important diagnostic discipline.

            Nuclear Medicine Technology is the medical specialty concerned with the use of small amounts of radioactive materials for diagnosis, therapy, and research.  It is one of the diagnostic imaging modalities similar to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, CAT scanning, and X-ray.  But Nuclear Medicine Technology procedures are totally different from other diagnostic imaging modalities.  It uses radioactive materials to perform body function studies (Organ imaging), analyze biologic specimens and treat diseases.

            Organ Imaging is the oral administration, or inhalation of radioactive material called radiopharmaceuticals. Radiopharmaceuticals are purified and compounded form of radio nuclides. After these radiopharmaceuticals are localized in a specific organ or the organ system of the body, instruments called scintillation cameras can detect the radiation emitted by the radiopharmaceutical concentrated in the organ and produce an image of the organ on a computer screen or photographic film.  These images provide a way of studying the structure and measuring the function of that organ, as well as identifying tumors, areas of infection, or other disorders. This procedure provides information that can assist the physician in diagnosing diseases where the patient feels little or no discomfort and the radiation does is very small.

            Another procedure of Nuclear Medicine Technology is the radioactive analyses of biologic specimens which provide great accuracy and sensitivity.  Blood, urine, or other specimens are collected from patients and are combined with radioactive materials to measure the levels of various components in the sample such as hormones, drugs, or other chemical substances.  Sample collection is very simple, and because the radioactive is added to the specimen outside the body, the patient is not exposed to radiation.

            A therapeutic dose of radioactive materials are also administred to patients to treat a specific disease and is the least used diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures.  But the treatment of disease with radiopharmaceuticals is a valuable contribution to patient care.

Technological innovations may increase the diagnostic uses of nuclear medicine.  One example is the use of radiopharmaceuticals in combination with monoclonal antibodies to detect cancer at far earlier stages than is customary today and without resorting to surgery.  Another is the use of radio nuclides to examine the heart’s ability to pump blood.  Wider use of nuclear medical imaging to observe metabolic and biochemical changes for neurology, cardiology, and oncology procedures also will spur demand for nuclear medicine technologists.

Every Nuclear Medicine Technology procedures are administered and monitored by a Nuclear Medicine Technologist.  They have a solid background in anatomy, physiology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, radiation safety, clinical nuclear instrumentation, and laboratory technique.  The technologists are the ones who administer radiopharmaceuticals to patients, operate gamma scintillation camera, adhere to safety standards, keep patient records and record the amount and type of radio nuclides received, used and discarded.  They are highly skilled i...

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