Nuclear technology

Nuclear technology is technology that involves the reactions of atomic nuclei. It has found applications from smoke detectors to nuclear reactors, and from gun sights to nuclear weapons.

Medical applications
The medical applications of nuclear technology are divided into diagnostics and radiation treatment.

Imaging - medical and dental x-ray imagers use of Cobalt-60 or other x-ray sources. Technetium-99m is used, attached to organic molecules, as radioactive tracer in the human body, before being excreted by the kidneys. Positron emitting nucleotides are used for high resolution, short time span imaging in applications known as Positron emission tomography.

Radiation therapy is an effective treatment for cancer.