Application Of Radium Research Articles

Application of radium isotopes to estimate seawater intrusion rate in coastal aquifers

Coastal aquifers, as the interface zone between ocean and land, are highly sensitive and vulnerable to seawater intrusion. This study presents the behavior of radium isotopes and their application to estimate the rate of seawater intrusion in a typical coastal city (Qinhuangdao, China). The hydrochemical results indicated that the coastal aquifers have Na–Cl type water with the lower Na/Cl ratios. The analysis revealed that the formation process of the chemical composition of groundwater was mainly the mixing of seawater and groundwater, while that of inland groundwater was dominated by mineral dissolution and cation exchange and adsorption. Groundwater of intruded aquifers contain significantly higher activities of radium than those of nearshore seawater and inland groundwater. The rates of seawater intrusion were estimated by using equation of the fate and transport of radium in 1–D transient groundwater flow system. In the calculation process, we ignored dissolution and co-precipitation and mainly considered mixing, alpha recoil and decay contribution for radium activity as sources and sinks terms of radium in coastal groundwater based on the characteristics of radium activity and 224Ra/228Ra ratio in groundwater. The recoil (P) was determined by the activity ratio of 224Ra to Th (232Th/230Th), while the retardation (Rf) was calculated from the steady-state radium equilibrium equation. The seawater intrusion rates were obtained by integrating 224Ra and 228Ra activities under different thorium ratios (232Th/230Th). The results show that the rate of seawater intrusion varies in a wide range at different locations, which are 0.17–1.03 (232Th/230Th = 0.67) and 0.11–1.01 (232Th/230Th = 1.25) m/d. The method of calculating seawater intrusion rate with radium isotope can obtain the rate of different parts of heterogeneous anisotropic aquifer, which also extends the application of radium isotope in hydrogeology.

Patients, Practice, and Policy: Genre and Dr Moran's Cancer Writing

Medical literature of the 1920s and 1930s used different narrative forms to meet reader information needs. Australian general and specialist medical journals were often scientific in writing style while the pamphlet form was used for public health education. International medical congresses, which Australians attended, used the conference paper medium and collections were often published in weighty volumes. Herbert Moran was a surgeon and prolific medical writer who used different genres to address concerns about cancer management and treatment. His career included the experimental application of radium and radiation therapy for cancer treatment. This article explores three examples of Moran's writing and shows how he adjusted his style and medical content to fit publication type and audience information needs.

The Radiochemical and Radiopharmaceutical Applications of Radium

AbstractThis review focuses on the chemistry and application of radium isotopes to environmental monitoring, analytical, and medicinal uses. In recent years, radium has been used primarily as a tracer to study the migration of radioactive substances in environmental systems. Tracing the naturally occurring radium isotopes in mineral and water sources allows for the determination of source location, residence time, and concentrations. An understanding of the concentration of radionuclides in our food and water sources is essential to everyone’s health as alpha particle decay is highly damaging in vivo. Due to this high radiobiological effectiveness, there is increased interest in using alpha-emitting radionuclides to prepare new, therapeutic radiopharmaceutical drugs. Selected studies from the recent literature are provided as examples of these modern applications of radium isotopes.

Erratum to: the radiochemical and radiopharmaceutical applications of radium

Erratum to: the radiochemical and radiopharmaceutical applications of radium

SU‐E‐E‐06: Teaching Medical Physics in a Radiology Museum

Purpose:To enhance the learning process in the teaching of medical physics by providing a venue to experience the historical equipment and devices of radiology.Methods:We have created a museum by assembling a large collection of equipment and artifacts related to radiology and medical physics. As part of a learning‐in‐context educational approach, classes for a survey course in medical physics are held in the museum so that students are able to visually and tangibly experience the implements of radiology, while related topics are discussed. The students learn how x‐ray equipment and techniques evolved throughout the years and they learn to appreciate the differences and similarities between current x‐ray technology and that of the early days. The collection contains items dating from the era of the discovery of x‐rays up to recent times and includes gas x‐ray tubes, hand‐held fluoroscopes, generators, spark‐gap kV meters, stereoscopes, glass‐plate radiographs, a photofluorographic unit, wood‐interspaced grid, flat‐panel detector, linear‐accelerator klystron, and brachytherapy radium applicators, as well as an extensive library containing some of the seminal literature of the field so that students can delve deeper into the technology. In addition to the classes, guided tours are provided for radiologic‐technology, bioengineering, physics and medical students, as well as group and individual tours for the general public.Results:Student course assessments have consistently included positive expressions of their experience in the museum. Numerous students have volunteered to assist with display preparation and have learned by researching the content. Many individuals have been attracted on a walk‐in basis and have expressed a deep curiosity in the technology, with positive feedback.Conclusion:The museum and its artifacts have been invaluable in stimulating interest in the history and technology of medical physics. Students and visitors alike obtain a deeper appreciation of the contribution physics has made to medicine.

Clival keloid after nasopharyngeal radium irradiation masquerading as skull base malignancy

Nonchordomatous lesions of the clivus are rare entities. Nasopharyngeal radium irradiation (NRI) treatment consists of application of radium to the posterior nasopharynx near the orifice of the Eustachian tubes, an area adjacent to the clivus. Here we present a unique case of a patient with a history of NRI 70 years prior to presentation with a space-occupying clival lesion suspicion for a skull-based malignancy. This lesion was resected using an endoscopic endonasal approach. Histopathological analysis revealed a clival keloid, an entity not previously reported in the literature.

Measurement and Application of Radium and Radon in the Environment

The measurement of low-level Ra and Rn isotopes in water samples has become increasingly convenient and accurate in recent years. I summarize these new and advanced techniques and then introduce their application fields in geophysical and environmental studies.

Radiation Oncology: Today and Tomorrow

The twentieth century witnessed the birth of the medical discipline of Radiation Oncology, beginning with the discovery and clinical application of radium in the early 1900s. Subsequently, clinical radiation oncology evolved as a major modality for the treatment of most solid cancers with the initial use of orthovoltage x-rays, to the use of supervoltage photons and electrons and, most recently, to the use of neutrons, protons, and other charged particles. In the last quarter of the century, Radiation Oncology readily adapted and integrated the use of supercomputers and new imaging modalities (CT, MRI, PET/CT) into radiation treatment planning and delivery to transition from 2-dimensional (2-D) to 3-D, and now to 4-D treatment. As we moved through the first decade of the twenty-first century, our ability to carefully conform the radiation dose to the outlines of irregularly shaped tumor or target volumes while also creating a steep radiation dose gradient to adjacent normal tissues is now becoming standard-of-care with the use of image-guided and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IGRT and IMRT, respectively) or with the use of stereotactic radio surgery (SRS). This rapid evolution in imaging and radiation treatment technologies was only made possible by the simultaneous integration of specialty trained medical physicists and dosimetrists as essential members of Radiation Oncology departments.

Radioactive Isotopes as Tracers: A Closer Look at Radium and Radon: Measurement and Application of Radium and Radon Isotopes in Environmental Sciences; Venice, Italy, 7–11 April 2008

The accurate measurement and modeling of certain radium and radon isotopes is important because such radionuclides have become primary tools for determining fluxes of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) into the ocean, rates of mixing of coastal waters, residence times of water in estuaries, and interactions between surface water and groundwater.Fifty‐two scientists from 14 countries met for a workshop on radium and radon isotopes, hosted by the Venice office of the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). These scientists discussed complexities regarding the measurement of radium‐223 (223Ra), radium‐224 (224Ra), radium‐226 (226Ra), radium‐228 (228Ra), radon‐220 (220Rn), and radon‐222 (222Rn), as well as models used to apply the results to environmental questions.

Application of radium isotopes to determine crustal residence times of hydrothermal fluids from two sites on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland

Radium isotopes were used to determine the crustal residence times of hydrothermal fluids from two geothermal wells (Svartsengi and Reykjanes) from the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland. The availability of rock samples from the subsurface (to depths of 2400 m) allowed direct comparison of the radium isotopic characteristics of the fluids with those of the rocks within the high temperature and pressure reaction zone. The 226Ra activity of the Svartsengi fluid was ∼one-fourth of the Reykjanes fluid and the 228Ra/ 226Ra ratio of the Svartsengi fluid was ∼twice that of Reykjanes. The fluid isotopic characteristics were relatively stable for both sites over the 6 years (2000–2006) of the study. It was determined, using a model that predicts the evolution of the fluid 228Ra/ 226Ra ratio with time, that both sites had fluid residence times, from the onset of high temperature water–rock reaction, of less than 5 years. Measurement of the short-lived 224Ra and 223Ra allowed estimation of the recoil input parameter used in the model. The derived timescale is consistent with results from similar studies of fluids from submarine systems, and has implications for the use of terrestrial systems in Iceland as an exploited energy resource.

MO-C-T-6E-05: Early History of Radiation Physics

In 1905, Einstein's annus mirabilis, Dr. Charles Lester Leonard began his presidential address to the American Roentgen Ray Society with, “A review of what has been accomplished in the decade since Roentgen's discovery is a fitting subject for the annual address in this decimal year…. It will form a base from which we can attempt to look into the future.” I wonder if Dr. Leonard would recognize the future if he could be present at this meeting, a century later, and see what it became. In the decade between the discovery of X‐rays by Roentgen in 1895 and Dr. Leonard's address much had happened in the world of radiation physics. Although there were new discoveries, especially that of radioactivity, the overall emphasis was upon the application of “radiation” to clinical problems without fully understanding the nature of the “radiation” or its interaction with matter, especially tissue. When Roentgen discovered X‐rays in November 1895, the news spread rapidly through the continental Europe, Great Britain and the United States and many individuals began generating and using them. This was not surprising since the basic equipment was readily available, Crooks tubes, high voltage generators, induction coils, etc, especially in academic departments and the information in newspaper accounts of Roentgen's work was detailed enough to get started. Physicists were just as likely therefore to be involved as medical doctors. Unfortunately the above equipment, except for the Crook's tube, was also being used for what became called electro‐therapeutics, the treatment of disease by electricity which on the whole was considered “quackery”. In the fall‐out between radiology and electro‐therapeutics the physicists became caught in the middle. This created problems for medical physicist that would take half a century to start addressing. No such problem existed in Great Britain allowing medical physics to develop earlier there than in the United States. Much of the development in the period 1985 to 1905 was in the area of X‐rays, although radium had been discovered by the Curies in 1898 it was very expensive, in 1906 1 gram of radium cost $50,000, and demand far exceeded supply. However the clinical application of radium was clearly recognized and programs for its therapeutic use in the treatment of cancer had started at a number of institutions world‐ wide. The major needs in 1905 were the requirement for the standardization of treatments, accurate measurement of radiation, reliable equipment and steady output, an understanding of the radiobiological effects of radiation, a basic understanding of the physics involved. In the next few years all of these questions would be extensively addressed. Educational Objectives: 1. To appreciate the status of clinical radiation physics in 1905. 2. To realize what was and what was not known about radiation physics in 1905 3. To appreciate the problems that still had to be addressed.

REPAIR OF BONE IN THE PRESENCE OF ASEPTIC NECROSIS RESULTING FROM FRACTURES, TRANSPLANTATIONS, AND VASCULAR OBSTRUCTION

Aseptic necrosis of bone may result from a number of causes—as vascular disturbances, injuries, the action of chemicals, and the application of radium in the treatment of malignant disease. The process of repair of the damaged area differs with the causative agent and with the amount of functional stimulation to which the part is subjected during the reparative period. It also differs from that seen in cases of necrosis produced by infection. Necrosis en masse produced by severe infection is nearly always followed by a fibroblastic and fixed tissue phagocytic reaction which usually results in complete absorption of the dead bone, if the area is small, or in sequestration, if it is large. However, mild inflammatory reactions, particularly when associated with embolic or thrombotic processes and due to low grade micro-organisms, may sometimes result in necrosis which is followed by simultaneous absorption of dead bone and incomplete, irregular replacement by new bone (creeping substitution).

Estimation of the radiation dose from radiotherapy for skinhaemangiomas in childhood: the ICTA software for epidemiology

Radium applicators and pure beta emitters have been widely used in the past totreat skin haemangioma in early childhood. A well defined relationship betweenthe low doses received from these applicators and radiation-induced cancersrequires accurate dosimetry. A human-based CT scan phantom has been used tosimulate every patient and treatment condition and then to calculate thesource-target distance when radium and pure beta applicators were used. Theeffective transmission factor φ(r) for the gamma spectrum emittedby the radium sources applied on the skin surface was modelled using MonteCarlo simulations. The well-known quantization approach was used to calculategamma doses delivered from radium applicators to various anatomical points.For 32P, 90Sr/90Y applicators and 90Y needles we have usedthe apparent exponential attenuation equation. The dose calculation algorithmwas integrated into the ICTA software (standing for a model that constructs anIndividualized phantom based on CT slices and Auxological data), which hasbeen developed for epidemiological studies of cohorts of patients who receivedradium and beta-treatments for skin haemangioma. The φ(r) valuesobtained for radium skin applicators are in good agreement with the availablevalues in the first 10 cm but higher at greater distances. Gamma doses can becalculated with this algorithm at 165 anatomical points throughout the body ofpatients treated with radium applicators. Lung heterogeneity and air crossedby the gamma rays are considered. Comparison of absorbed doses in water from a10 mg equivalent radium source simulated by ICTA with those measured at theRadiumhemmet, Karolinska Hospital (RAH) showed good agreement, but ICTAestimation of organ doses did not always correspond those estimated at theRAH. Beta doses from 32P, 90Sr/90Y applicators and 90Yneedles are calculated up to the maximum beta range (11 mm).

Results of postoperative radiotherapy in the treatment of sarcoma of the corpus uteri.

The role of radiotherapy in the treatment of uterine sarcoma still is not clear. Data from the literature advocating adjuvant radiotherapy most often are based on very small patient groups, whereas larger epidemiologic studies, which appear to show no benefit for the additional radiotherapy, lack information regarding clinical data influencing the choice for adjuvant irradiation. During 1981-1992, 72 patients were referred for postoperative radiotherapy. Histologic diagnoses were leiomyosarcoma (LMS) in 30 patients, endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS) in 11 patients, mixed müllerian tumors (MMT) in 28 patients, and other sarcoma types in 3 patients. The 1988 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics classification for endometrial carcinoma was applied retrospectively. Forty patients presented with Stage I disease, 9 with Stage II, 17 with Stage III, and 6 with Stage IV. External beam therapy was given with a cobalt-60 unit using a rotation technique with 2 separate arcs in daily fractions of 2 gray (Gy), up to a total dose of 56 Gy to the pelvis. Brachytherapy was given to the vaginal vault either with 2 radium applications (median: 1600 milligram-hours to the applicator surface) or, in the majority of cases, with 3 fractions of high dose rate afterloading applications (iridium-192, 10-Curie source) with 7 Gy each to an isodose 7.5 mm from the applicator surface. The 5-year actuarial overall survival, disease specific survival, and local control rates for 72 patients were 52.3%, 58.5%, and 77.9%, respectively; in Stage I patients they were 74.8%, 84.6%, and 94.4%, respectively; in Stage II patients they were 53.3%, 53.3%, and 88.9%, respectively; in Stage III patients they were 15.7%, 17.9%, and 55.5%, respectively; and in Stage IV patients they were 0%, 0%, and 0%, respectively. For LMS, the 5-year actuarial overall survival, disease specific survival, and local control rates were 49.4%, 52.0%, and 76.0%, respectively; for ESS they were 81.8%, 81.8%, and 90.9%, respectively; and for MMT they were 42.3%, 54.9%, and 72.4%, respectively. These data suggest that adjuvant radiotherapy is an effective treatment for uterine sarcoma with regard to disease specific survival in patients with early stage disease and increases local control, even in patients with advanced stage disease.

Analysis of Postoperative Vaginal Vault Radiotherapy of Stage I Endometrial Cancer with Different Radionucleides

A total of 213 patients in stage I grade 1 endometrial cancer were treated postoperatively with either radium or caesium vaginal applicators. The rate of complication and the incidence of second malignancies were studied in both groups. The frequency of grades 2 and 3 vaginal complications was higher among patients treated with caesium applicators but not statistically significant. The observed number of second malignancies was significantly higher than expected in the radium-treated group, in which the observed number of second malignancies with distant location was also significantly higher than expected, which could not be found in the caesium group.

Advances in the radiotherapy of gynecologic malignancies.

The use of radiation in the treatment of gynecologic malignancies dates back to the early years of the century. The particular anatomy of the vagina and uterus allowed early investigators to readily use primitive radiation sources in the therapy of cervical cancer. Margaret Abigail Cleaves, a New York electrotherapist, is credited with being one of the first to use radium to treat cervical cancer. In 1903, she described how she applied a sealed glass tube containing radium to an advanced cervix cancer [1]. Impressed by the result, she then developed a specially shaped x-ray tube with a long neck that could be used for transvaginal irradiation of the cervix [2]. The first intrauterine radium applicator was made by Wickham and Desgrais in Paris around 1908, and in 1909 Forsell in Stockholm reported on the treatment of 32 cervix cancer patients with silver tubes containing radium, coining the term brachytherapy for his treatment [3]. Over the next several decades, an understanding of anatomy and dose delivery allowed the development of standardized treatment systems at Stockholm, Paris, and Manchester. With advances in external beam equipment, it became possible to combine brachytherapy with external beam radiotherapy to optimize treatment. Technical advances in treatment planning and dose delivery equipment continue to be made at a rapid rate, the clinical benefits of which are being realized.

Radiation oncology: An emergence as a discipline in Thailand

It has been a century since Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen discovered the x-ray in 1895. Immediately after it was discovered, the Roentgen Ray was applied for diagnostic purposes in clinical medicine. In 1896, radioactivity was discovered and radium was discovered 2 years later in 1896. Radiation oncology began in Europe in 1898. The Roentgen ray was used in diagnostic clinical work in Thailand since 1928, when the first x-ray machine was installed in Siriraj Hospital by a radiologist, Dr. Pin Muangman, who was trained at Peterbent Brigham Hospital, Harvard University. In 1935, one superficial x-ray machine, lo-15 KeV, and one deep x-ray machine, 230 KeV, were installed, and three doctors, two nurses, and one technician worked in the X-Ray Department. These three doctors were locally trained on the job by the only trained radiologist mentioned above (11, 17). A radiologist at that time mostly worked in the diagnostic side of the clinical work, especially in chest and bone diagnosis. The therapeutic applications of x-rays were mostly confined to the skin diseases. The superficial x-ray was used for eczema, which proved to be resistant to medical treatment. Warts or hyperkeratosis that were recurrent after surgical or electrocautery treatment were referred for xray treatment. Radiotherapy given by deep x-ray machines was confined to palliative or postoperative treatment after a second operation for a local recurrence of cancer cases. The untoward effects of x-rays, such as radiation sickness and painful moist desquamation of the skin, were well known to the public and other medical colleagues. In 1938, Dr. Amnuey Smerasuta was granted a scholarship to study a course of Diploma in Medical Radiology and Electrology in Cambridge and returned to work in the Department of Radiology in 1940. He introduced radium therappy into Thailand. For superficial lesions, he used radium plaques for the treatment of warts, hyperkeratosis, and small hemangiomas, especially in children. For interstitial radium therapy, he used radium needles for carcinoma of the lips, tongue, and buccal mucosa. For treatment of carcinoma of the cervix, he used radium tubes sitting in the intrauterine tandem and radium needles filled in the two boxes for treating each side of the parametrium. The radium applicator for treating the parametria was introduced into the fomices and was called the butterfly applicator. It consisted of a central holding handle and two boxes of radium needles on each side of the central handle. The distances between the two boxes were adjustable by screwing at the central holding handle (11, 17). The intracavitary radium applicator used in Thailand at that time was a modification of the Stockholm techniques. The dosimetry was recorded in mg h. Radiation therapy was gradually accepted in the treatment of Stage I and early stage II of carcinoma of the cervix for curative treatment and Stages III and IV for palliative treatment. Supplemental external radiation to the parametria was given by the deep x-ray 400 KeV. or convergent beam therapy 220 KeV (4, 15). A joint consultation clinic between gynecologists and radiologists (so-called at that time) was created to decide the staging of the diseases jointly. The Stage I carcinoma cervix cases were treated mostly by the Wertheim’s operation. Only the patients who refused surgery or those who had medical contraindications to surgery were referred to be treated by intracavitary radium. In the Department of Surgery, patients who had carcinoma of the lower lip, tongue, and buccal mucosa were referred for interstitial radium followed by radical neck dissection of the regional lymph nodes. In 1951, Dr. Roj Suwansuthi received a scholarship from the Instituted of International Education for postgraduate study in the U.S. and was trained at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York and Peterbent Brigham Hospital, Harvard University. He was the first M.D. from Thailand to receive the diploma of the American Board of Radiology. When he came back to Thailand he was appointed the head of the radiotherapy division and did a lot to improve the standard of radiation therapy in Thailand, especially for external radiation. In 1953, teleradium was introduced into the Army Hospital and at the same time nuclear medicine was intro-

Estimates of numbers of civilians treated with nasopharyngeal radium irradiation in the United States.

Nasopharyngeal radium irradiation was used 35 to 50 years ago for treatment of hearing loss, chronic ear infections, asthma, and other conditions. I reviewed the medical literature for published articles on the nonmilitary use of nasopharyngeal radium irradiation. Four years have minimum documented numbers of radium applicators in use (1946, 600; 1948, 1000; 1958, 2000; 1961, 2000). Two levels of physician use were assumed, a high estimate of 25 patients per week and a low estimate of 5 patients per week. It was assumed that physicians used the applicators 50 weeks per year. Typical treatments involved two applicators at a time (one for each nostril) for three sessions. Using a formula reflecting the number of applicators in use, the number of patients a physician would treat in a week, the number of weeks in a year an applicator would be used, and the number of applicators and sessions per patient, I then estimated the number of children who might have been treated. This estimate is that approximately 500,000 to 2.5 million persons might have been treated with nasopharyngeal radium. Because the lack of documentation for numerous parts of the equation required that I make a large number of assumptions, this estimate should be considered a rough approximation of the number of civilians treated.

Military use of nasopharyngeal irradiation with radium during World War II.

Published reports of the military use of nasopharyngeal irradiation during World War II include treatment of U.S. aviators in England, the aerotitis control program of the Army Air Forces, treatment of Navy submarine trainees at New London, Connecticut, and other miscellaneous reports. In England, Army aviators developed hyperplastic lymphoid tissue in the nasopharynx. Radon applicators were used to treat 220 Army aviators from 1942 to 1944. The radium applicator provided a much more stable applicator and allowed much shorter exposure times, making it suitable for field use. From 1944 to 1945 the Army Air Forces had an aerotitis control program that was developed on the recommendations of an expert panel convened by the air surgeon. Nasopharyngeal radium was used to treat 6881 aviators. Hyperplastic lymphoid tissue was also a problem in submarine escape training at New London. Reports indicate that 732 Navy submariners were treated with nasopharyngeal radium. Other documented military use included 60 Navy aviators by Northington and 277 aviators in the Pacific theater. The total number of U.S. military personnel treated in World War II is 8170. After the war, there were no indications that the Army or Air Force continued to use nasopharyngeal radium, but it was used by the Navy at New London for some time. Precise numbers treated are unknown, and it is unclear when use of nasopharyngeal radium irradiation was stopped.

Historic development and medical use of nasopharyngeal radium irradiation treatments

Nasopharyngeal radium irradiation was a medical treatment that replaced eustachian tube inflation and was itself replaced by tympanotomy tubes. Research and development began in 1924 when Samuel J. Crowe was awarded funds to develop an otologic research laboratory. He observed that recurring adenoids and serous otitis were associated with childhood deafness. In collaboration with Curtis Burnam, he developed a nasopharyngeal radon applicator in the 1930s. This was modified in the 1940s to a nasopharyngeal radium applicator, which had a much longer half-life and did not need treatment lengths recalculated twice each day. Numerous reports on the clinical use of nasopharyngeal radium irradiation in the United States were published. Papers have cautioned against possible dangers of nasopharyngeal radium irradiation, but there have been no substantiated reports. This report ends with three concluding suggestions for research. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1996;115:388-90.)