A primary topic seen this week is how radiation interacts with matter, like biological matter, therapies involving radiation, and different imaging involving radiation. From this and self knowledge/experience, consider the following:
- Of the three main radioactive emissions: alpha, beta, and gamma, which would be the least/most harmful to biology and why? Which would be the easiest/hardest to block and how?
- In some medical procedures, radioactive isotopes are used that have very short half-lives. Why is this desirable and how would these isotopes be obtained since none would be found in supply due to their short half-life?f
- Different types of imaging – CT, PET, MRI – use different methods to obtain an image. How would those differences go in deciding what would be the best type of image to take? In other words, how would one decide which type of image would give the best result for a given situation?
Sample Solution
