Nuclear Medicine

Assignment 2: Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear medicine is a specialized branch of modern medicine that exploits the process of radioactivity for imaging, diagnosis, and treatment. Many imaging techniques inject small amounts of radioactive material into the body, which are then tracked by a sensing device specific to the type of radiation emitted from that material. Radiation has also been used to destroy diseased tissue, typically beyond the reach of standard surgical techniques.

Address the following:
•Explain the scientific and technical concepts related to nuclear medicine. Consider the following questions when you construct your response:
oWhat type of radiation is typically exploited in most nuclear medicine procedures?
oHow are patients prepared for nuclear medicine procedures?
oWhat are the advantages and limitations of nuclear medicine?
oWhat ailments are typically diagnosed and treated via nuclear medicine procedures?

•Evaluate a minimum of three applications of nuclear medicine relating to any of the following topics:
oPositron Emission Tomography (PET) scans
oGallium scans
oIndium white blood cell scans
oIobenguane scans (MIBG)
oOctreotide scans
oHybrid scanning techniques employing X-ray computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
oNuclear medicine therapy using radiopharmaceuticals

Support your statements with examples. Provide a minimum of three scholarly references. Write a 2–3-page paper in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria
Demonstrated an understanding of the basic scientific and technical concepts of nuclear medicine. 28
Evaluated current or future applications of nuclear medicine with three real-world examples. 32
Provided at least three reliable references to support examples of current and future nuclear medicine applications. 20
Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. 20

Total: 100