a nuclear medicine operating room (brachytherapy)
this operating room was set-up for prostate cancer radiation therapy… as the machines were off and no patient data was on-screen, i was allowed to take photos and videos with my camera. =) i was also witnessing the procedure, as i was working in the operating room as an intern nurse, handing the surgeons stuff – but basically just watching. needless to say, it was very intense!
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Tags: brachytherapy, cancer, cancer radiation therapy, Medicine, nuclear, nuclear medicine, operating, patient data, prostate, room
25 Responses to “a nuclear medicine operating room (brachytherapy)”
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Ah, thanks! Sounds like those seeds could cook just about anything! Lucky of you to be able to work with such a machine!
the latter, they’re guided through the tubes and remain in the needles for a few seconds to irradiate the target location.
see the video response for further details, it’s the follow-up video.
Kinda of a dumb question, but when the seeds are fired, do they stay inside the head, or are they guided through the tubes to the needles in the prostate?
ooops. i had 170 keV in mind for some reason, oh well… but true, 370 keV are the average gamma energy of Ir-192.
uhm, well, i’d surely not like to have “fresh” seeds somewhere around me, that’s for sure… but it’s certainly better than using e.g. Cs-137 regarding to half-life, that’s true.
Well, apparently Ir192 has beta energy around 600 KeV and gamma 370 KeV. So I guess this isotope is easier to shield than one in the MeV range. Perhaps thats why they use this isotope as it also has a short half life of only 74 days. So not so bad if one of the needles gets lost and swept up with the trash, lol. !!!!!!!
well, i’ve asked the physics guy at work, and he said the seeds are inside the head indeed, so… DU seems to be a totally amazing shield.
Thats amazing. I can hardly believe there are 10 curies of activity in that head. Are you sure the needles are in there as you are only reading a few microsieverts/hr. Thats the amount of activity you would expect from the depleted uranium alone. I know its a good shield but would never have expected it to shield 10 curies that well.
I love it when you talk dirty!!!
the needles sound painful…
Ahh, i watched the vid in the youtube window and not fullscreen so thought that the glass was rather thick because of the perspective.
oh dear, i’m really not sure. maybe an inch? hard to tell, really…
How thick was the glass?
The entire subject matter of the video scares me, LOL.
ah damn i got the 2 signs mixed up
i ment the radio active sign
yup, that’s a big issue indeed; there have been radioactive (cobalt-60) watches for sale in a supermarket here a few years ago, it was a big thing on the news.
shame i missed that opportunity and did not manage to buy one of those watches, lol.
only very few videos i have are hospital-based; i have most equipment at home (the intensive care monitor, for example). i just finished a six-weeks internship in a hospital, and that’s where i took this particular video.
other than that, i am only self-educated; i am not a university student (and have never been), nor do i have any official education in a scientific / medical field.
it’s glass that contains the element lead (PbO) to increase the shielding capabilities of the glass.
it should have a radioactive / trefoil sign on the door rather than a biohazard warning. sure there’s a biohazard as well when you mess with blood and stuff, but i’ve never seen a biohazard warning symbol on an operating room door.
what do u mean?
good to know, thanks.
Few videos ago she mentioned she got a job at a hospital dealing with radio active stuff. But I think she is also a student in the field as well.
then you probably will.
id rather die then be one of those patients
i seen one of those machines in a hospital. it had a huge biohazard sign on the door
whats lead glass?
I just have to ask you all thease videos you have are all like hospital based are you a nurse or something?