| Nuclear medicine is the
application of radioisotopes for:
Diagnostic techniques
Positron emission tomography (PET)
Positron emission tomography (PET) is one of the nuclear
medicine techniques available for diagnosis. Whilst
X-rays provide information on the structure of the body,
PET shows the chemical function of a particular organism.
PET involves the injection of FDG (a glucose-based radionuclide)
from a shielded syringe into the patient. As the FDG
travels through the patient's body it emits gamma radiation
which is detected by a gamma camera, from which the
chemical activity within cells and organs can be seen.
Any abnormal chemical activity may be a sign that tumours
are present.
PET scans are frequently used to detect cancerous tumours
and diseases of the brain and coronary arteries.
Applications for WOLFMET tungsten
shielding in PET include:
 |
PET
syringe shield |
|
Tungsten
vial shield |
|
Tungsten
FDG transport container |
|
Collimator
for gamma camera |
|
Technetium generator |
Radiotherapy
Multi leaf collimator
Radiotherapy destroys cancer by directing beams of radiation
directly onto the tumour. The beams of radiation require
a very fine focus to avoid harming the surrounding healthy
tissue. This focus is achieved by using a multi-leaf
collimator , consisting of two rows of very thin tungsten
alloy plates, which can be configured to exactly match
the dimensions of the tumour.
Brachytherapy
When it is difficult to access the diseased cells directly,
it is possible to use an alternative type of radiotherapy,
known as afterloading (a version of brachytherapy).
This technique consists of implanting a radioactive
seed inside the patient's body, via a catheter. Before
and after treatment the seed is kept in a large tungsten
safe, to protect the patient and medical staff against
radiation.
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