Chemistry · Ch 13 — Nuclear Chemistry and Radioactivity
Applications in Medicine
Applications in Medicine
Hospitals and larger medical clinics typically maintain a dedicated Department of Nuclear Medicine, reflecting how central radioisotopes have become to modern healthcare -- several are routinely used in the treatment of serious diseases such as cancer.
Medical uses of radioisotopes fall into two broad categories. DIAGNOSTIC isotopes are used for imaging and functional assessment; they are deliberately chosen to be SHORT-lived, specifically to limit how long a patient's body is exposed to radiation once the isotope has done its diagnostic job. THERAPEUTIC isotopes, by contrast, are used to actively destroy abnormal cells -- typically cancerous cells -- and so are chosen for their radiation-delivering properties rather than for a short exposure window. …
Table 13.4(a), two rows. Chromium-51 (51-24-Cr): half-life 28 days, emits gamma radiation, used clinically for spleen imaging. Iron-59 (59-26-Fe): half-life 45 days, emits both beta and gamma radiation, used to assess bone-marrow function. Both are chosen for diagnostic use specifically because their half-lives are short, which limits how long a patient's body is exp …
Table 13.4(b). Phosphorus-32 (32-15-P): half-life 14 days, emits beta radiation, used in the treatment of leukemia. Cobalt-60 (60-27-Co): half-life 5.3 years, emits beta and gamma radiation, used as an external radiation source for cancer treatment. Iodine-131 (131-53-I): half-life 8 days, emits beta and gamma radiation, used in the treatment of thyroid cancer. Radium-226 (226-88-Ra): half-life 1620 …