MODERN METHOD OF

TREATING DISEASES

SUBMITTED BY: JAIME JOHN VENTAYEN III-CHALCEDONY

Discovery           The discovery of X-rays was by a German physicist called Wilhelm Roentgen. In 1895 Roentgen discovered X-rays almost by accident. Whilst doing some experiments in which he passed an electric current through Crookes tubes (special tubes containing a cathode and electrode from which the air has been removed), Roentgen noticed that photographic plates nearby began to grow fogged. To discover why this occurred he placed black paper on the tube and then switched on the current. Nearby a screen coated with barium began to glow. This caused Roentgen to believe that unknown rays produced inside the tube were passing through the paper to make this fluorescent substance give out light. These he named X-rays since x is a scientific number for anything that is unknown.

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• What are X-rays?• • X-RAYS ARE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES LIKE RADIO AND LIGHT WAVES. THESE ALL TRAVEL AT THE

SPEED OF LIGHT, WHICH IS 300 000KM PER SECOND. THE WAVELENGTH OF AN X-RAY HOWEVER IS ONE HUNDREDTH THAT OF THE LIGHT RAYS THAT YOU CAN SEE, AT AROUND 10¯¹ºM. THIS MEANS THAT THEY HAVE A LOT MORE ENERGY. X-RAY FLUORESCENCE IS THE EMISSION OF X-RAYS FROM EXCITED ATOMS PRODUCED BY THE IMPACT OF HIGH-ENERGY ELECTRONS, OTHER PARTICLES OR A PRIMARY BEAM OF OTHER X-RAYS. ATOMS OF ALL THE ELEMENTS EMIT A CHARACTERISTIC X-RAY SPECTRUM WHEN THEY ARE BOMBARDED WITH ELECTRONS. THE X-RAY PHOTONS ARE EMITTED WHEN THE INCIDENT ELECTRONS KNOCK AN INNER ORBITAL ELECTRON OUT OF AN ATOM. WHEN THIS HAPPENS, AN OUTER ENERGY ELECTRON FALLS INTO THE INNER SHELL TO REPLACE IT, LOSING POTENTIAL ENERGY IN DOING SO.

• THE OCCURRENCE OF X-RAYS IS NOT JUST ON THE EARTH. FOR INSTANCE IT HAS BEEN FOUND THAT X-RAYS REACH THE EARTH FROM OUTER SPACE. MYSTERIOUS OBJECTS CALLED QUASARS GIVE OUT HUGE AMOUNTS OF X-RAY ENERGY. X-RAYS CAN PASS THROUGH MANY FORMS OF MATTER AND THEREFORE HAVE MANY USES. X-RAYS ARE PRODUCED FOR THESE PURPOSES BY AN X-RAY TUBE.

Uses of X Rays• In Medicine

• X RAYS HELP DENTISTS DETECT DISEASES OF THE TEETH. DOCTORS USE X RAYS TO LOCATE BULLETS AND OTHER FOREIGN OBJECTS WITHIN THE BODY; TO GUIDE THEM IN SETTING BROKEN BONES; AND TO DETECT CANCER, ULCERS, KIDNEY STONES, AND OTHER ABNORMALITIES.

• VARIOUS TYPES OF X-RAY SCANNERS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED THAT ALLOW HIGHLY DETAILED VIEWS OF A PARTICULAR SECTION OF THE BODY. ONE TYPE, KNOWN AS A CT (COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY) SCANNER, SENDS NARROW BEAMS OF X RAYS AT VARIOUS ANGLES THROUGH A PATIENT'S BODY. THE INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM THE X RAYS IS PROCESSED BY A COMPUTER TO PRODUCE AN IMAGE OF A CROSS-SECTION OF THE BODY. THE IMAGE SHOWS MUCH MORE DETAIL THAN AN ORDINARY X-RAY PICTURE. A SECTION OF THE BODY CAN BE STUDIED IN THREE DIMENSIONS BY PRODUCING A SERIES OF ADJACENT CROSS-SECTIONAL IMAGES.

• X RAYS CAN HALT THE GROWTH OF CELLS AND EVEN DESTROY THEM ALTOGETHER. THEY ARE THEREFORE USED TO DESTROY BENIGN AND MALIGNANT TUMORS. X RAYS HAVE ALSO BEEN USED IN THE TREATMENT OF LEUKEMIA AND BURSITIS.

• In Industry

• X RAYS ARE USED TO INSPECT CANNED GOODS AND OTHER PACKAGED PRODUCTS. A CONVEYOR CARRIES THE GOODS PAST A BEAM OF X RAYS. IF A CONTAINER IS IMPROPERLY FILLED, OR IF IT CONTAINS A FOREIGN SUBSTANCE, THE X RAYS SET OFF AN ALARM OR SET INTO ACTION A DEVICE THAT REMOVES THE CONTAINER FROM THE CONVEYOR. X RAYS ARE SIMILARLY USED TO SEPARATE BERYL FROM GRANITE AND TO INSPECT AIRPLANE AND AUTOMOBILE PARTS, RUBBER GOODS, PLASTICS, METAL CASTINGS, AND A VARIETY OF OTHER PRODUCTS.

• WHEN USED AS A TARGET IN AN X-RAY TUBE, EVERY ELEMENT GIVES OFF X RAYS OF SPECIFIC WAVELENGTHS. THESE CHARACTERISTIC RAYS ARE USED TO ANALYZE METAL ALLOYS, PAINT PIGMENTS, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES

Uses of X Rays

• In Science

• SCIENTISTS HAVE LEARNED MUCH ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF MATTER BY MEANS OF X RAYS. AMONG OTHER THINGS, THEY HAVE LEARNED HOW ATOMS ARE ARRANGED IN CRYSTALS. THE AVERAGE WAVELENGTH OF X RAYS IS ABOUT EQUAL TO THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE ATOMS IN CRYSTALS. CRYSTALS THEREFORE ACT AS DIFFRACTION GRATINGS FOR X RAYS. THAT IS, THEY SCATTER X RAYS IN A PATTERN THAT SHOWS THE POSITIONS OF THEIR ATOMS.

• WHEN THE PATTERNS OF SPECIFIC CRYSTALLINE SUBSTANCES ARE KNOWN, TECHNICIANS CAN USE X RAYS TO ANALYZE SUBSTANCES OF WHICH THEY ARE A PART. PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, METAL ALLOYS, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES ARE THUS ANALYZED.

Uses of X Rays

• Other Uses

• CUSTOMS OFFICERS AND AIRPORT SECURITY PERSONNEL USE X RAYS IN EXAMINING LUGGAGE AND PACKAGES TO CHECK FOR WEAPONS OR SMUGGLED ARTICLES. X RAYS SHOW WHETHER PEARLS ARE NATURAL OR CULTURED, AND WHETHER GEMSTONES ARE NATURAL OR SYNTHETIC. X RAYS HAVE ALSO BEEN USED TO LEARN WHETHER PAINTINGS ATTRIBUTED TO NOTED PAINTERS ARE AUTHENTIC. SOMETIMES THEY HAVE REVEALED CHANGES MADE IN THE ORIGINAL WORK, OR AN EARLIER PAINTING UNDER THE ONE THAT APPEARS ON THE SURFACE.

Uses of X Rays

• THE MAIN USE OF X-RAYS IS IN MEDICINE. A COMMAN APPLICATION IS IN THE FORM OF X-RAY MACHINES, WHICH TAKE PHOTOS OF A PATIENT’S BODY. IF AN ARM OR LEG WERE BROKEN FOR EXAMPLE, THEN THIS LIMB WOULD BE PUT IN FRONT OF THE X-

RAY WITH A PIECE OF PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM BEHIND. THE X –RAY IS TURNED ON BRIEFLY AND GOES THROUGH TO THE FILM. THE RAYS GO THROUGH THE SKIN AND

FLESH EASILY, SHOWING UP AS DARK AREAS ON THE FILM, BUT WITH MORE DIFFICULTY THROUGH BONE. THEY ARE SLOWED DOWN AND SO THESE AREAS ARE MUCH LIGHTER. X-RAYS CAN ALSO BE USED TO KILL CANCER CELLS, BUT ALSO KILL

HEALTHY CELLS, SO MUST BE USED WITH MUCH CARE.• OTHER USES ARE IN INDUSTRY, AT AIRPORTS TO CHECK CUSTOMERS AND

BAGGAGE AND BY ART HISTORIANS TO SEE IF A PICTURE HAS BEEN PAINTED ON TOP OF AN OLDER ONE. X-RAY DIFFRACTION IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT IN SPECTROSCOPY

AND AS A BASIS FOR X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHY. THE DIFFRACTION OF X-RAYS BY A CRYSTAL WHERE THE WAVELENGTH OF X-RAYS IS COMPARABLE IN SIZE TO THE

DISTANCES BETWEEN ATOMS IN MOST CRYSTALS IS USED TO DISPERSE X-RAYS IN A SPECTROMETER AND TO DETERMINE THE STRUCTURE OF CRYSTALS OR MOLECULES.

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Uses of X Rays

• A BETATRON IS A CYCLIC PARTICLE ACCELERATOR DEVELOPED BY DONALD KERST AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS IN 1940 TO ACCELERATE ELECTRONS,[1][2][3] BUT THE CONCEPTS ULTIMATELY ORIGINATE FROM ROLF WIDERØE,[4][5] WHOSE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDUCTION ACCELERATOR FAILED DUE TO THE LACK OF TRANSVERSE FOCUSING.[6] PREVIOUS DEVELOPMENT IN GERMANY ALSO OCCURRED THROUGH MAX STEENBECK IN THE 1930S.[7]

• THE BETATRON IS ESSENTIALLY A TRANSFORMER WITH A TORUS-SHAPED VACUUM TUBE AS ITS SECONDARY COIL. AN ALTERNATING CURRENT IN THE PRIMARY COILS ACCELERATES ELECTRONS IN THE VACUUM AROUND A CIRCULAR PATH. THE BETATRON WAS THE FIRST IMPORTANT MACHINE FOR PRODUCING HIGH ENERGY ELECTRONS.

Uses of Betatron

• BETATRON, A TYPE OF PARTICLE ACCELERATOR THAT USES THE ELECTRIC FIELD INDUCED BY A VARYING MAGNETIC FIELD TO ACCELERATE ELECTRONS (BETA PARTICLES) TO HIGH SPEEDS IN A CIRCULAR ORBIT. THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL BETATRON WAS COMPLETED IN 1940 AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE AMERICAN PHYSICIST DONALD W. KERST, WHO HAD DEDUCED THE DETAILED PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN THE OPERATION OF SUCH A DEVICE. MODERN COMPACT BETATRON DESIGNS ARE USED TO PRODUCE HIGH-ENERGY X-RAY BEAMS FOR A VARIETY OF APPLICATIONS.

• TELETHERAPY, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS EXTERNAL BEAM RADIOTHERAPY, IS A TYPE OF RADIATION THERAPY USED TO TREAT VARIOUS FORMS OF CANCER. THIS METHOD USES FOCUSED BEAMS OF X-RAY RADIATION OR GAMMA RAYS GENERATED BY SUCH MACHINES AS THE LINEAR ACCELERATOR, COBALT MACHINE OR GAMMA KNIFE; THE BEAMS ARE AIMED AT THE SPECIFIC AREA OF THE TUMOR WITHIN THE BODY TO ELIMINATE THE CANCER CELLS. THE RADIATION THERAPY TEAM WORKING WITH THE PATIENT USES COMPUTER SOFTWARE TO CONTROL THE SIZE OF THE BEAM IN ORDER TO ACCURATELY BOMBARD THE TUMOR. THIS HELPS REDUCE DAMAGE TO NON-CANCEROUS CELLS AND THE ORGANS NEAR THE TUMOR.

Uses of Teletherephy

• OFTEN TELETHERAPY IS AN OUTPATIENT PROCEDURE THAT REQUIRES NO HOSPITAL STAY. TREATMENTS CAN LAST UP TO 10 WEEKS, WITH MOST TREATMENT SESSIONS RANGING FROM 10 MINUTES TO HALF AN HOUR FIVE DAYS PER WEEK. THESE SESSIONS INVOLVE APPLICATION OF TEMPORARY INK TO THE BODY TO MARK THE AREA OF TREATMENT AND EVEN SMALL BUT PERMANENT DOT TATTOOS TO HELP AIM THE RADIATION BEAM. A PATIENT MAY ALSO NEED TO WEAR A BODY MOLD OR A MASK TO KEEP THE BODY OR HEAD IN PLACE DURING TELETHERAPY TREATMENT.

• IS A TREATMENT, WHICH USES RADIOISOTOPES AS IN TREATING THE

KIDNEY.

Intrasanitary Isotopes Therapy

• IS USED IN TREATING ADVANCED CASES OF CANCER WHICH CANNOT BE TREATED BY OPERATION OR EXPOSURE TO RADIATION.

Chemotheraphy

•THE END