Introduction to Radiologic Technology and Healthcare PDF

INTRODUCTION TO RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGY AND HEALTHCARE Princess Shaira A. Nuño, RRT MEDICAL RADIATION SCIENCES  Radiation is energy that is transmitted by waves through space or through a medium (matter); it has permeated the universe since the beginning of time and is a natur...

INTRODUCTION TO RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGY AND HEALTHCARE Princess Shaira A. Nuño, RRT MEDICAL RADIATION SCIENCES  Radiation is energy that is transmitted by waves through space or through a medium (matter); it has permeated the universe since the beginning of time and is a natural part of all of our lives. For example, the sun radiates light energy, and a stove radiates heat energy.  Energy is the capacity to operate or work. The many different forms of energy include mechanical, electrical, heat, nuclear, and electromagnetic energy. Many forms of energy are used in medicine to create images of anatomic structures or physiologic actions. These images are essential for the proper diagnosis of disease and treatment of the patient. All of these energy forms can be described as radiation because they can be, and in many instances must be, transmitted through matter.  Some higher energy forms, including x-rays, have the ability to ionize atoms in matter. Ionization is any process by which a neutral atom gains or loses an electron, thus acquiring a net charge. This process has the ability to disrupt the composition of the matter and, as a result, is capable of disrupting life processes. Special protection should be provided to prevent excessive exposure to ionizing radiation.  Sound is a form of mechanical energy. It is transmitted through matter, and images of the returning sound waves can be created. Diagnostic medical sonography is the field of study that creates anatomic images by recording reflected sound waves. Sound waves are a form of non-ionizing radiation.  Electrocardiography and electroencephalography are methods of imaging the electrical activities of the heart and of the brain, respectively. The graphs they produce provide useful information about the physiologic activities of these organs.  Nuclear energy is emitted by the nucleus of an atom. Nuclear medicine technology uses this type of energy to create images of both anatomic structures and physiologic actions. It involves the introduction of a radioactive substance into the body for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. These substances emit gamma radiation from their nuclei. Gamma radiation is a form of electromagnetic energy that has the ability to ionize atoms. As a result, proper radiation protection is important in the nuclear  Electromagnetic energy has many forms. Many of these forms are used in medicine to deliver high-quality patient care. For example, light is an essential energy form in many of the scopes used by physicians to view inside the body. In addition, x-rays are a manmade form of electromagnetic energy. They are created when electrons moving at high speed are suddenly stopped. X-rays, also called roentgen rays, named after their discoverer, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, allow physicians to visualize many of the anatomic structures that were once visible only at surgery.  Radiography is the making of records, known as radiographs, of internal structures of the body by passage of x-rays or gamma rays through the body to act on, historically, specially sensitized film or, most commonly, on a digital imaging plate or detector. In the diagnostic radiography department, images are created using x-rays that pass through the body. In addition, very high- energy x-rays are used in the radiation therapy department for the treatment of many forms of cancer. In both of these departments, proper radiation protection is essential.  Medical radiation science involves the study of the use of radiation throughout medicine. The fact that many forms of radiation are used in all branches of medicine should be apparent. Because many laypeople assume that the terms radiation and ionizing radiation are used interchangeably, the term imaging sciences has been preferred to the term radiation or radiologic sciences in areas that use a non-ionizing form of radiation such as diagnostic medical sonography and MRI. And, because radiation therapy is primarily involved in treatment and not imaging, the term imaging sciences alone is not encompassing enough.  PIONEERS OF RADIOLOGY  Three aspects of physical science helped pave the way for the discovery of x-rays – electricity, vacuums, and image-recording materials.  Evangelist Torricelli produced the first-recognized vacuum when he invented a barometer in 1643. A barometer is a scientific instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure, also called barometric pressure.  Otto van Guericke invented an air pump that was capable of removing air from a vessel or tube in 1646.  In 1659, Robert Boyle repeated the experiment of Otto van Guericke and in 1865, Herman Sprengel repeated the same experiment. Their techniques improved the amount of evacuation, thus making better vacuum tubes available for further experiments.  William Gilbert was one of the first to extensively study electricity and magnetism. He also invented the electroscope, an early scientific instrument used to detect the presence of electric charge on a body.  Isaac Newton built and improved the static generator. An electrostatic generator or electrostatic machine, is an electrical generator that produces static electricity, or electricity at high voltage and low continuous current.  Charles du Fay, distinguished two kinds of electricity and named them “vitreous” and “resinous” (later known as positive and negative charge, respectively). He also discovered that alike-charge objects would repel each other and unlike-charged objects attract.  Abbe Jean-Antoine Nollet made a significant improvement in the electroscope, a vessel for discharging electricity under vacuum conditions. The electroscope was a forerunner of the x-ray tube.  Benjamin Franklin conduct many electrical experiments and should be mentioned in ant discussion of the pioneers of electricity.  William Watson demonstrated a current of electricity by transmitting electricity from a Leyden jar through wires and a vacuum tube. A leyden jar is an electrical component that stores a high-voltage electric charge between electrical conductors on the inside and outside of a glass jar.  William Morgan noticed the difference in color of partially evacuated tubes. He noted that when a tube cracked and some air leaked in, the amount of air in the tube determined the coloration.  In 1831, Michael Faraday induced an electric current by moving a magnet in and out of a coil. From this experiment evolved the concept of electromagnetic induction, which led to the production of better generators and transformers and high voltages for use in evacuated tubes.  Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff, made the most significant improvement on induction coils. A German mechanic who invented the Ruhmkorff coil, a type of induction coil that could produce sparks of more than 1 foot (30cm) in length.  Johann Wilhelm Hittorf conducted several experiments with cathode rays, which are streams of electrons emitted from the surface of a cathode.  William Crookes furthered the study of cathode rays and demonstrated that matter was emitted from the cathode with enough energy to rotate a wheel placed within a tube. He repeated and further developed Hittorf’s works.  Philipp Lenard found that cathode rays could penetrate thin metal and would project a few centimeters into the air. He determined their energies by measuring the amount of penetration. He also studied the deflection of rays as a result of magnetic fields.  William Goodspeed produced a radiograph in 1890. However, his achievement was recognized only in retrospect and after the discover of x-rays by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen; he was not credited with the discovery of x-rays.  Johann Heinrich Schulze produced the first photographic copy of written material (image recording material).  In 1871, Richard Leach Maddox produced a film with gelatin silver bromide emulsion that has remained the basic component for film.  In 1884, George Eastman produced and patented roll-paper film.  WILHELM ROENTGEN  Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen was born on March 27, 1845, in Lennep, a small town near the Rhine River in Germany. He was the only child of Friedrich Conrad Roentgen, a textile merchant whose ancestors had lived in or near Lennep for several generations.  He married Bertha Ludwig in 1872, and in 1888 he was offered employment at the University of Wurzburg. He readily accepted the offer, knowing of the university’s new physics institute and its impressive facilities.  He became interested in cathode ray experiments with the Crookes tube, which he worked with until his discovery of x-rays. Discovery of X-rays  On November 8, 1895, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered x-rays while working in his laboratory at the university. While operating a Crookes tube at high voltage in a darkened room, he noticed a piece of barium platinocyanide paper on a bench several feet from the Crookes tube. He observed a glowing or fluorescence of the barium platinocyanide after he passed a current through the tube for only a short period. Knowing the parameters of this particular experiment, Roentgen realized that the fluorescence was some kind of ray, rather than light or electricity, escaping the Crookes tube.  Roentgen proved that he had produced some type of x-ray (x being a mathematical symbol for an unknown quantity) by continuously producing the fluorescent effect of the barium platinocyanide. By performing several more tests with the mysterious rays, he determined that the rays had a degree of penetrative power dependent on the density of the material.  On December 28, 1985, Roentgen submitted a report entitled, “On a new kind of rays” to the Wurzburg Physico-Medical Society. He realized that this new type of ray could potentially have a medical use.  Reontgen discovered that by placing his hand between the tube and a piece of cardboard coted with barium platinocyanide, he could actually visualized the bones of his hand, thus demonstrating the primitive fluoroscopic screen.  He convinced his wife to place her hand on a cassette loaded with a photographic plate upon which he directed the x-rays from the tube for approximately 15 minutes. The bones in his wife’s hand, as well as the two rings on her finger, were clearly visible. Development of plate proved again that Roentgen’s experiments were successful.  Roentgen received the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 in Stockholm and became a member of the Physical Society of Stockholm. In 1902, he received an invitation from the Carnegie Institute of Washington, D.C., to use its laboratory for special experiments, but declined.  On February 10, 1923, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen died in Munich, Germany. EARLY DAYS IN THE DISCOVERY  Thomas Alva Edison attempted to explain the nature of the rays to the citizens in the United States. However, no one fully understood the effects of radiation.  ADVANCED EXPERIMENTATION OF THE ROENTGEN RAYS  Michael Idovrsky Pupin, produced the first known radiograph in January 2, 1896. His production of the radiograph was thought to have occurred approximately 2 weeks after Roentgen discovered x- rays.  Thomas Edison started his experiments with roentgen rays soon after the announcement of Roentgen’s discovery. His primary concern was working with fluoroscopy, a procedure using x-rays to image inner parts of the body in movement and motion.  Edison and his staff discovered the use of calcium tungstate, a great improvement over barium platinocyanide. He also became interested in trying to develop a tube in which energy could be transformed into light rather than x-rays.  However, he immediately stopped all his research in fluoroscopy, which involved extensive use of radiation, when one of his assistants, Clarence Madison Dally, suffered severe radiation damage as a result of the work.  RADIOACTIVITY  A property of certain elements to emit rays or subatomic particles spontaneously from matter.  Pierre Curie, Marie Curie, and Henri Becqurel were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 for their discovery.  Pierre Curie suggested the medical utility of radioactivity. He noticed that the radium killed diseased cells while experimenting the radium on animals.  Marie Curie refined the knowledge of radioactivity and purified radium metal. In 1911, she received a Nobel Prize for her work in chemistry.  Marie Curie suffered a severe illness and required a kidney operation. After her health improved, she became acquainted with Albert Einstein and resumed her experiments with radium. However, her efforts were halted because of World War 1.  Unable to work in her laboratory, she made radiographic equipment for the French military medical service. She developed approximately 20 mobile radiographic units and 200 installations for the army. NUCLEAR RADIOLOGY  It is a branch of radiology in which radioactive materials are used for medical diagnosis and treatment.  Ernest Lawrence invented the cyclotron in 1932. It is a chamber that made it possible to accelerate particles to high speeds for use as projectiles. It first made radioisotopes available in large quantities.  Ernest Fermi induced a successful chain reaction in a uranium pile at the University of Chicago in 1942.  MODERN RADIOLOGY  Fiber optics is a man-made fibers with the unique characteristic of allowing light to turn a curve, has a significant impact on radiology and indeed on all disciplines of medicine. The plastic-like material that will transmit light through curves and bends has been used in radiology imaging equipment and instruments for diagnostic tests and treatment.  Cassettes and film holders have films more durable and have provided a tighter closure that allows better screen-film contact.  Intensifying screen speeds are five to six times those of previous screens, making it possible to decrease exposure factors.  Advances in computer technology have brought about a revolutionary change in medical imaging. Continuing education has played an important role in the development of radiology and is essential in keeping abreast of the rapid changes and innovations in the field of radiology.