Uses of Nuclear Radiation - GCSE Physics - Summary
Channel: Kit Betts-Masters
Date: 19/01/2021

Radiation is used in medicine to:
Explore internal organs.
Control or destroy unwanted tissue.

Gamma emitters can be injected into the blood and a gamma camera outside of the body can detect the location of the gamma emitter.  
This is especially useful for analysing rates of blood flow for people with circulation problems.  
We can also use radioactive iodine to analyse fluid flow in the kidneys. 
A tracer needs to be a gamma emitter to be detected outside the body, and needs to be a long enough half-life to run the test, but short enough to limit the risk.

Gamma radiation can be used to kill cells in cancerous tumours.  A narrow beam from a cobalt source is focussed on the tumour.  It is rotated around the body so that the healthy cells get a small dose of radiation and the cancerous cells get a large dose.  It has to be gamma to penetrate into the body.  
We can also use beta or gamma releasing implants placed next to a tumour, this gives a continuous dose to the tumour but has a short enough half-life so that it is not radioactive for long.



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