Nuclear physics is really important in medicine, especially for things like medical imaging and treatment. By studying atomic nuclei and radioactivity, scientists and doctors can use radioactive materials to improve healthcare. Let’s look at two main ways this happens.

Medical Imaging

One of the biggest uses of nuclear physics is in medical imaging. This includes ways of taking pictures of what’s happening in our bodies, like PET scans and SPECT scans. These techniques use special substances that contain radioactive isotopes.

1. How it Works:

   • In a PET scan, the patient gets a radiotracer. This is a substance that has a radioactive isotope attached to it. A common one is called Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), which has fluorine-18 in it.
   • When the body uses this substance, it gives off positrons that bump into electrons. This creates gamma rays.
   • The detectors catch these gamma rays and make detailed images that show how active the organs and tissues are.

2. Benefits:

   • This method helps doctors see important processes, like how cancer cells use glucose. Cancer cells often use more glucose than normal cells, which shows up in the images.

Radiation Therapy

Nuclear physics is also very important in treating illnesses, especially cancer.

1. Radiation Therapy:
   • This treatment uses high doses of radiation to kill or hurt cancer cells while protecting healthy tissue. Common isotopes used in this therapy include cobalt-60 and iodine-131.
2. How It Works:
   • These isotopes give off radiation that damages the DNA of cancer cells. This stops them from growing and dividing. For example, iodine-131 is taken up by thyroid cells, making it very useful for treating thyroid cancer.

Conclusion

In short, nuclear physics is essential for both medical imaging and treatment. With methods like PET scans and radiation therapy, doctors can find cancer early and provide targeted treatments, which greatly helps patients. The combination of physics and medicine is leading to exciting new advancements that are changing healthcare for the better.