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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.
Between 1958 and 1972, the Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio became the first hospital in Central Ohio to develop an extensive cobalt therapy program, where the use of cobalt-60 became the dominant radiation source for treating patients with cancer. In 1973, 30-year-old Joel Axt was hired by the hospital as the resident physicist ...
Cobalt-60 Teletherapy Capsule. The radiotherapy accident in Costa Rica occurred within the Alcyon II radiotherapy unit at San Juan de Dios Hospital in San José, Costa Rica. It was related to a cobalt-60 source that was being used for radiotherapy in 1996. An accidental overexposure of radiotherapy patients treated during August and September ...
A typical cobalt-60 capsule, comprising: (A) An international standard source holder (usually lead), (B) a retaining ring, and (C) a teletherapy "source" composed of (D) two nested stainless steel canisters welded to two (E) stainless steel lids surrounding an (F) internal shield (usually uranium metal or a tungsten alloy) that protects a (G) cylinder of radioactive source material.
According to the 1985 CNSNS report, about four thousand people were exposed to cobalt-60 radiation as a result of the incident. [3] It is estimated that almost 80 percent of people received a dose less than 500 mrem (equivalent to 5 m Sv ); 18 percent, between 0.5 and 25 rems (5–25 mSv); and only two percent (about 80 people) received doses ...
The buyers dismantled the containers, exposing themselves and others to ionizing radiation. Eighteen people, including seven children, were admitted to hospital. Ten of the adults developed acute radiation syndrome. One exposed cobalt-60 source was retrieved, but the source from the other package was still unaccounted for one year later.
Cobalt-60 is used as a radiation source for radiotherapy (specifically, cobalt therapy). Cobalt-60 (60 Co) is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt, with a half-life of 5.27 years, and emits highly penetrating gamma rays. It is commonly used as a radiation source for radiotherapy and equipment sterilization in hospital settings, and also ...
In addition to their uses in radiography, both cobalt-60 (60 Co) and iridium-192 (192 Ir) are used in the radiotherapy of cancer. Cobalt-60 tends to be used in teletherapy units as a higher photon energy alternative to caesium-137, while iridium-192 tends to be used in a different mode of therapy, internal radiotherapy or brachytherapy.