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Cobalt therapy is the medical use of gamma rays from the radioisotope cobalt-60 to treat conditions such as cancer. Beginning in the 1950s, cobalt-60 was widely used in external beam radiotherapy (teletherapy) machines, which produced a beam of gamma rays which was directed into the patient's body to kill tumor tissue.
The role of the cobalt unit has largely been replaced by the linear accelerator, which can generate higher energy radiation. [4] [5] Nonetheless, cobalt treatment still retains some applications, such as the Gamma Knife, since the machinery is relatively reliable and simple to maintain compared to the modern linear accelerator.
Cobalt-60 (60 Co) is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt with a half-life of 5.2714 years. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] : 39 It is produced artificially in nuclear reactors . Deliberate industrial production depends on neutron activation of bulk samples of the monoisotopic and mononuclidic cobalt isotope 59
Cobalt poisoning is intoxication caused by excessive levels of cobalt in the body. Cobalt is an essential element for health in animals in minute amounts as a component of vitamin B 12 . A deficiency of cobalt, which is very rare, is also potentially lethal, leading to pernicious anemia .
In 1974, Axt calibrated a cobalt-60 teletherapy unit with an incorrect decay curve. The calculated decay rate was more rapid than the real source, leading to a dose rate underestimated by 10–45% and an overestimated treatment time. [2] [3] No other calibrations and checks were performed between May 1974 and January 1976. Axt later attributed ...
Safe treatment shows Alzheimer’s potential. One of the challenges of treating Alzheimer’s is finding therapeutics that can cross the blood-brain barrier and get into the brain. Xenon gas can ...
This prototype was designed to produce slit-like radiation lesions for functional neurosurgical procedures to treat pain, movement disorders, or behavioral disorders that did not respond to conventional treatment. The success of this first unit led to the construction of a second device, containing 179 cobalt-60 sources.
It should only be used in the short-term, not as as routine treatment. Castor oil is a powerful laxative that stimulates the intestines, causing diarrhea. "It's not a laxative I usually recommend ...