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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.
Cobalt-60 beam machine from 1951 Cobalt units use radiation from cobalt-60, which emits two gamma rays at energies of 1.17 and 1.33 MeV, a dichromatic beam with an average energy of 1.25 MeV. The role of the cobalt unit has largely been replaced by the linear accelerator, which can generate higher energy radiation.
The main uses for 60 Co are: As a tracer for cobalt in chemical reactions; Sterilization of medical equipment. [8] Radiation source for medical radiotherapy. [9] Cobalt therapy, using beams of gamma rays from 60 Co teletherapy machines to treat cancer. Radiation source for industrial radiography. [9] Radiation source for leveling devices and ...
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.
The success of this first unit led to the construction of a second device, containing 179 cobalt-60 sources. This second Gamma Knife unit was designed to produce spherical lesions to treat brain tumors and intracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). [9] Additional units were installed in the 1980s all with 201 cobalt-60 sources. [10]
In November 1951, the first Saskatoon patient, a 43-year-old mother of four, was treated for cervical cancer with a carefully calibrated dose of cobalt-60 radiation. In early 1952, Maclean's magazine had dubbed the cobalt-source radiotherapy machine the cobalt bomb - a tongue-in-cheek tribute to this peaceful use of nuclear technology.
Brachytherapy is commonly used as an effective treatment for cervical, [105] prostate, [106] breast, [107] and skin cancer [108] and can also be used to treat tumors in many other body sites. [ 109 ] In brachytherapy, radiation sources are precisely placed directly at the site of the cancerous tumor.
Nordion Inc., a Sotera Health company, is a health science company that provides Cobalt-60 used for sterilization and treatment of disease (radiotherapy). Nordion is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with facilities in Vancouver, British Columbia and Laval, Quebec. Riaz Bandali is the company's President.
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