Nuclear physics in medicine
RADIATION THERAPY and radioisotope imaging have become as common to modern medicine as stethoscopes and hypodermic needles and an increasing number of young physicists are now entering this field.
Abstract
RADIATION THERAPY and radioisotope imaging have become as common to modern medicine as stethoscopes and hypodermic needles. They illustrate the impact that nuclear physics has had upon medical diagnosis and therapy. For example, the design of particle accelerators led to radiation treatment with increasingly higher energies. Nuclear reactors provided a wide variety of radioisotopes for nuclear medicine. Development of instruments such as the Anger camera have improved imaging techniques. At times, nuclear physicists themselves have decided to apply their skills to health‐related areas, and an increasing number of young physicists are now entering this field.