Treating Disease - Essay Example

?Nuclear Medicine Nuclear medicine is a branch of medicine in which negligent amount of radioactive material is used to treat or diagnose various diseases. The diseases which mainly can be diagnosed or cured with nuclear medicine are cancer, heart disease or other abnormalities of body. In nuclear medicine, technique imaging procedure is used to diagnose or treat disease. The imaging procedure in this medicinal field is non – invasive and is comprised of painless medical tests. The imaging scans involved in nuclear medicine make use of radioactive material like radiotracers and radiopharmaceuticals. Depending on the nature of treatment the radioactive material is injected, inhaled or swallowed to produce energy called gamma rays in the particular organ of the body being diagnosed. These gamma rays are detected with the help of PET camera, gamma camera or probe. All these devices work in assistance with computer to analyze the amount of radiotracer absorbed by the body and delivers complete detail about the specific organ. Nuclear medicine also provides therapeutically procedures to treat cancer and other thyroid related problems. Here the radioactive iodine therapy is used where radioactive materials help in treating the diseases. Nuclear medicine images could be superimposed with the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computer tomography (CT).Generally nuclear medicine procedures are performed with the help of gamma camera with which pictures can be taken from various angles. The highlight of the nuclear medicine is that it helps the doctors in looking inside the human body which otherwise is opaque. Both the physiology and anatomy of the body is considered in nuclear medicine while treating or diagnosing a disease. Since human body is opaque, it is difficult to look into it and with the help of imaging device and computers they are able to diagnose and perform various treatments. The different nuclear imaging techniques are positron emission tomography (PET), Single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT), cardiovascular imaging and Bone scanning. These techniques make use of various radioactive materials to produce an image. These techniques help in detecting tumors, blood flow to blood vessels, disorders in blood cells, disfunctioning of organs and pulmonary and thyroid disfunctioning. In nuclear medicine, a substance containing radionuclide or radioactive isotope is administered into the body. This emitted radioactive material is either used to diagnose a disease in the body or destroy diseased cells. It has taken more than fifty years for the nuclear medicine field to reach a breakthrough point where it could be helpful for human kind. Previously, the role of nuclear medicine was limited only to diagnosis and now it has changed o treatment of various diseases. The first demonstration of nuclear imaging technique was performed in 1946 on thyroid tumors. Nuclear medicine imaging is a functional imaging tool and helps in checking the proper functioning of bodily organs. Apart from this nuclear medicine is the only technique which helped in proving the brain death case.MRI scans, X-rays or ultra-sound cannot make the difference between dead and live tissues and hence cannot detect occurrence of brain death. So it can be understood that the nuclear medicine technology is so powerful that it can monitor the most important organ like brain. Nuclear medicine specialist use painless, safe and cost efficient techniques to perform body imaging and treat various diseases. Nuclear medicine imaging is different, as it allows the physicians and doctors to understand the structure and function of the body of patients. Nuclear medicine uses very minimal amount of radioactive material and hence it is not harmful to people. The amount of radiation received usually in nuclear imaging is equal to diagnostic x- ray and it is very safe for patients. In nuclear medicine the importance is given to the chemistry and function rather than structure. Radioactive tracers of fatty acids, glucose and amino acids helps in examining the development and growth of organs of the body, the repair and regeneration of cells and drug response. Nuclear medicine imaging procedure normally allows the detection of abnormalities in body at an earlier stage which helps in knowing the progression of diseases. The origin of nuclear medicine can be related to many scientific discoveries like discovery of x- ray and artificial radio- activity. The landmark for nuclear medicine reached a stand point when a thyroid cancer case was treated with the help of radioactive iodine. In 1950 widespread use of nuclear medicine started and its use went to an extent that both for thyroid diagnosis and treatment it became necessary. During 1960s the nuclear medicine field witnesses exciting growth in the nuclear medicine technology. In 1970s the nuclear medicine allowed the visualization of various organs including spleen and liver. It is in 1980s when nuclear medicine was used for diagnosing and treating heart diseases with the assistance of computers to make the technique more powerful. At present there are more than 100 different nuclear medicine imaging techniques which give detail of every organ of the body. The nuclear medicine has reached this height with the gifted contribution of scientists in various disciplines like engineering, chemistry, medicine and physics. Nuclear medicine has a multidisciplinary nature and hence it is difficult to trace its origin. The discovery of artificial radioisotopes by Irene Joliot-Curie and Frederic Joliot-Curie in 1934 was an important milestone in nuclear medicine. Gradually in 1954 the society of nuclear medicine was formed in Spokane, Washington. In 1960, the society started launching different journals on nuclear medicine in America. The nuclear medicine has the ability to test the intensity of function in an organ unlike conventional radiology which only concentrates on anatomy based on images. Moreover the nuclear medicine assists the doctors in diagnosing a disease in such an early stage that the best treatment can be made available for the same. The essential organs of body like liver, thyroid, heart, brain and kidneys can be assessed with the help of nuclear medicine imaging which is of great importance in saving the lives of diseased people. There are also nuclear medicine techniques which help in taking image of the whole body .The contribution of nuclear medicine to medical field is invaluable, and with its dynamic features people suffering from numerous fatal disease can be cured with lesser complications. Read More