The application of nuclear technology in medicine mainly includes X-ray diagnosis, clinical nuclear medicine, radiation therapy for tumors, etc.



X-ray diagnosis has become the most commonly used equipment for health examinations in modern hospitals. Commonly used are X-ray perspective and X-ray photography. Using X-rays to penetrate the human body for internal perspective and imaging, thereby helping doctors diagnose the condition and improve the quality of medical care. 

Nuclear medicine, also known as atomic medicine, refers to the application of nuclear radiation generated by radioactive isotopes in medicine. In medicine, radioactive isotopes and nuclear radiation can be used for diagnosis, treatment, and medical scientific research; In pharmacy, it can be used for the study of drug action principles, determination of drug activity, drug analysis, and radiation disinfection of drugs. Such as radioimmunoassay, 131I hyperthyroidism treatment, ECT imaging examination, etc.

Radioimmunoassay is an analytical technique that combines radioactive isotope tracing technology with immunological antigen antibody specificity to determine radioactivity and analyze trace components in the body. Radioimmunoassay has the advantages of high sensitivity, strong specificity, good precision, high accuracy, good repeatability, small sample size, simple equipment, convenient operation, easy serialization, commercialization, and automation, and can be performed outside the human body to avoid internal irradiation. It is suitable for the determination of over 300 biologically active trace substances in blood or other body fluids.

Radioisotope 131I can be used for thyroid uptake and renal function testing, as well as for the treatment of hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer. The thyroid gland has a highly selective uptake of 131I, and hyperthyroidism in thyroid tissue will result in a higher uptake of 131I. 131I stays in the thyroid for a long time, and the effective half reduction period in the thyroid of hyperthyroidism patients is about 3-5 days. When 131I decays, it mainly emits beta particles with a short range of only about 2-3mm, which generally has no effect on surrounding normal tissues. Therefore, after a certain dose of 131I enters hyperthyroidism thyroid tissue, these tissues will be partially suppressed or damaged under the concentrated and prolonged action of beta particles, achieving a similar effect to partial thyroidectomy and achieving the goal of treating hyperthyroidism.



ECT imaging examination, which is a single photon emission computed tomography machine, uses instruments to detect the dynamic distribution of radioactive isotopes in the human body for imaging. The difference from conventional CT is that the radiation source is located inside the imaging body. ECT imaging is the process of first subjecting the human body to certain radioactive drugs (such as technetium-99m) that accumulate in a certain organ or participate in certain metabolic processes in the body, and then imaging the concentration distribution and metabolism of radioactive nuclides in organ tissues. Therefore, ECT can not only obtain anatomical images of human organs, but also physiological, biochemical, pathological processes, and functional images.

Cobalt-60 treatment machine and medical linear accelerator are commonly used equipment in modern hospitals to treat tumors. They use the ionization effect of X and gamma rays on substances, and the tumor is irradiated by the radiation, causing tumor cells to die due to the ionization effect. Concentrate X-rays and gamma rays on the affected area of the tumor to kill tumor cells, thus achieving the goal of non surgical treatment of the tumor.



The utilization of nuclear technology in medicine has improved the comprehensive technical capabilities of hospitals and provided guarantees for the early recovery of patients.