B+Radioactive+Tracers+Flourine-18

=__Isotope and Radioactivity__=

=//**Radioactie Tracers: Fluorine-18 **//=

= = = Explanation of interesting facts: (how used/works/experiments/discoveries) =
 * 1) used in positron emission tomography (PET) scans it has a half-life of 109.771 minutes
 * 2) it can show the difference between bone and soft tissue infection
 * 3) it is inserted into the blood stream of a patient or inhaled or swallowed, then it accumulates in the organ(s) or area of your body that the doctors are examining
 * 4) shows the glucose metabolism in the brain
 * 5) helps doctors diagnose illnesses

= Advantages of using Fluorine-18: =

1. once in the body it can measures blood flow, the use of oxygen, and the sugar metabolism

2. shows where infection or disease is in the body by the radiation it emits

3. has a short half-life, so it isn't as dangerous as the other radioactive tracers

= Disadvantages of using Fluorine-18: = 1. The doctors have to use it quickly because it can undergo many half-lives

2. It is dangerous since the patient will be exposed to ionizing radiation

3.

=Is the radioactive isotope/radiation/discovery still used today? Explain= Yes it is still used today in PET scans which use Fluorine-18 to diagnose medical illnesses. "It is either injected into a vein, swallowed or inhaled as a gas and eventually accumulates in the organ or area of your body being examined, where it gives off energy in the form of gamma rays."* It helps doctors find out if the patient has a cancer or other disease and how the body's functions are working.

=References= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positron_emission_tomography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorine-18 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11132989 http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=pet (*)

=Diagram/image=