What Does a Nuclear Medical Technologist Do?

Nuclear medicine technology is a technology that uses non-natural isotopes (including radioisotopes and stable isotopes) and nuclear radiation for biomedical research and disease diagnosis and treatment. Nuclear medicine technology has undergone more than half a century of development and has been widely used by the 1960s.

Nuclear medicine technology

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Nuclear medicine technology is the use of non-natural

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There are four main categories of nuclear medicine technology:

This diagnostic method generally has the advantages of sensitivity, simplicity, safety, and no damage. It has a wide range of uses and can be used for almost all functional tests of tissues and organs or systems. The most commonly used isotope diagnoses fall into three categories.

1. External organ imaging. Some reagents selectively accumulate in certain tissues or organs of the human body. Such reagents are labeled with isotopes that emit gamma rays. After the reagents are orally or injected to patients, the detection of the distribution of the labeled reagents in the body can be displayed from outside the body to understand the shape and function of tissues and organs. For example, after the sulfurized Tc colloid is injected into the blood, it can be taken up by the Kupffer cells of the liver. The recording of the detection instrument in vitro can show the distribution of radioactive substances in the liver, so that you can judge the size, shape and location of the liver, whether the liver is normal, No lumps and so on. This test has become an indispensable method for liver cancer diagnosis. Organ imaging has been widely used for morphological and functional examination of liver, brain, heart, kidney, lung and other major tissues and organs.

Isotope organ imaging not only reflects organ morphology, but also shows the biochemical or physiological functions of the organ. For example, hepatic scintigraphy reflects hepatocyte phagocytosis, brain scintigraphy reflects blood-brain barrier function, and lung scans reflect lung perfusion or ventilation function. Scintillation photography can also continuously photograph an organ, enabling doctors to dynamically observe organ function and pathological changes.

Emission computed tomography is an advanced tool for in vitro imaging. It can be used to sensitively observe the distribution of isotopes in any plane of the human body, and it can also reproduce three-dimensional images from many tomographic images. With appropriate labeling reagents, even small changes in blood flow or glucose metabolism in a certain area of the brain caused by closing the eyes can be measured with this instrument. It is very promising for early diagnosis of diseases.

2. Determination of organ function. Isotope method for measuring organ function. For example, measure the number and speed of thyroid I ions to check the status of thyroid function. After the injection of (iodine-131) -o-iodine uric acid, use a detection instrument to simultaneously record the radioactive rise and fall curves of the kidney areas on both sides to check the sides. Renal blood flow, renal tubular secretion function, and ureter patency; after Cr-labeled red blood cells were injected, the rate of radioactive disappearance in the blood was measured to detect the life span of red blood cells.

3. In vitro radiation analysis. With competitive radiometric analysis, this ultra-micro analysis technology can accurately measure less than 10-10 grams of hormones, drugs, poisons and other components in samples such as bleeding and urine. Hundreds of biologically active substances have been determined by this method. China has used this technology in early pregnancy tests, blood donor hepatitis virus tests, and liver cancer screenings. In addition, various trace elements in hair, nails, blood, urine and other samples can be detected by neutron activation analysis to diagnose some diseases caused by abnormal trace elements.

Nuclear rays have the ability to kill cells. The treatment of hyperthyroidism with radioactive iodine is the most successful example of internal isotope therapy. The -rays of I can effectively destroy the thyroid tissue, which is equivalent to a "knife-free operation". P is often used to treat polycythemia vera. Radioactive phosphorus and strontium isotope application therapy can also be used to treat skin diseases and ophthalmic diseases in superficial parts such as hemangiomas, eczema, and corneal inflammation. In addition, external irradiation treatments such as cobalt therapeutic machines, electronic induction accelerators, and linear accelerators have become important methods for the treatment of malignant tumors, accounting for up to 70% of cancer treatments, and covering most diseases of cancer.