Download PDF RADIATION BIOLOGY OF MEDICAL IMAGING by CHARLES A. KELSEY

Sinopsis

This book evolved from courses taught over the past several years to medical professionals, technologists, scientists, and engineers at the University of New Mexico. The medical professionals in our classes were primarily radiology and cardiology residents and fellows. Our students included X-ray, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, and ultrasound technology students. The residents, fellows, and students were studying for board certification or registry examinations to establish their competence to practice their professions. We needed a book for these “users” of radiation with questions of the type they would face in their examinations. The authors consist of a team of scientists and engineers with over 75 years combined experience working with and teaching about radiation. We have included a chapter on radiation therapy because it is also deeply involved in imaging. The biological effects of magnetic resonance and ultrasound are included, although they employ nonionizing radiation because their biological effects may be cause for concern at higher power levels.

Within a year of Roentgen’s discovery of X-rays in 1895, their biological effects were evident because radiation burns and ulcers were observed in early users. Clarence Daly, one of Edison’s assistants, died from radiation-induced cancer less than 10 years after their discovery. In the years between X-ray’s discovery and Watson and Crick’s unraveling of the DNA structure in 1953, radiobiology studies concentrated on radiation in the treatment of cancer and on the effects of radiation on those exposed to radiation during World War II. Since 1953, radiobiology studies have focused on radiation damage to the DNA molecule. For a number of years before 9/11, there was a lull in the study of radiation effects. Since 9/11, there has been an increased effort to understand the effect of low levels of ionizing radiation. With recent developments in the study of DNA, now is an exciting time for the field of radiation biology.

Medical radiation, which is responsible for about half the U.S. population exposure, comes primarily from three sources: radiation therapy, interventional/ diagnostic, and nuclear medicine. Radiation therapy, often called radiation oncology, uses high doses to cure cancer. Interventional/diagnostic uses lower doses to guide

the insertion of devices into the body or determine what ails the patient. Nuclear medicine follows radioactive materials injected into the body to determine body functions. The effects of medical radiation depend on the dose and the parts of the body irradiated, but do not depend on how or why the radiation was delivered. The first quarter of the book is designed to establish an essential background knowledge base in biology and physics. For many readers, this will be a straightforward review. The book next covers DNA structure and function, DNA damage and repair, genetic effects, and the characteristics of cancer. The third quarter of the book covers the effects of radiation on various body organs and on the whole body, including a brief discussion of radiation-induced bystander effects. The final quarter concentrates on radiation effects from medical and natural sources of radiation and the regulations designed to protect workers and the general public. Particular attention is directed to the effects of low-dose, long-term exposures and the limitations of the linear no-threshold (LNT) hypothesis. A brief discussion of hormesis is included in this section.

Each chapter contains a clear statement of the chapter goals, a main body with illustrations covering the material, and a summary of the important points covered in the chapter. The chapter is closed with a series of multiple choice questions in the style and difficulty of many national examinations. We hope we have fulfilled our goal of producing a book useful for individuals studying for professional competence examinations and who employ radiation in their professions. With the advent of Maintenance of Certification (MOC) for certified professions, this book may be used to obtain Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits to satisfy some education requirements.

Content

1. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 
2. THE CELL 
3. RADIATION CHARACTERISTICS AND UNITS 
4. RADIATION INTERACTIONS WITH TISSUE 
5. CELL SURVIVAL CURVES 
6. DNA AND GENETICS 
7. RADIATION DAMAGE AND REPAIR OF CELLS 
8. NORMAL AND MALIGNANT CELLS 
9. RADIATION EFFECTS ON TISSUES AND ORGANS 
10. WHOLE BODY RADIATION EFFECTS 
11. RADIATION TREATMENT OF CANCER 
12. RADIATION BIOLOGY OF DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING 
13. NUCLEAR MEDICINE RADIATION BIOLOGY 
14. ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION 
15. REGULATIONS AND RISK 
16. BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ULTRASOUND 
17. BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

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