“Nuclear Medicine” – National Nuclear Science Week, Day 5 (October 24)
The fifth and last day of Nuclear Science Week
is all about Nuclear Medicine. Have you ever experienced a procedure
at a hospital that employed radiation? Did you know that there are
actually many different ways that nuclear technology is employed in
medicine – and not just at your local hospitals?According to our own Center for Nuclear Science and Technology Information,
Nuclear medicine and radiology are
the whole of medical techniques that involve radiation or radioactivity
to diagnose, treat and prevent disease. While radiology have been used
for close to a century, “nuclear medicine” began approximately 50 years
ago. Today, about one-third of all procedures used in modern hospitals
involve radiation or radioactivity. These procedures are among the best
and most effective life-saving tools available, they are safe and
painless and don’t require anesthesia, and they are helpful to a broad
span of medical specialties, from pediatrics to cardiology to
psychiatry.
You can learn much more about nuclear medicine at the dedicated CNSTI page on the topic – click here to access it.The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has oversight over some, but not all, medical uses of nuclear material and technology. To read about NRC’s role and to see what it regulates, click here.
The US Food and Drug Administration regulates a portion of the medical field that uses radioactivity; click here to access the FDA’s extensive site portal covering all aspects of what it regulates. You can also find many other useful resources at this link.
(Will Davis for ANS Nuclear Cafe.)
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