Case Study 1C
The amount of radiation determines the amount of biological effect caused by radiation. The more significant the amount of radiation and the higher the number of times an organism is exposed, the higher the impact on the health of an organism. Nuclear radiation possesses radioactive particles that carry with them intense energy. Upon penetrating the body, the radioactive particles break molecular bonds between cells, and lad to the ionization of body atoms. Enzymes and molecular structures are easily affected by radioactive particles, a situation that leads to cell malfunctions. The immediate effect is the development of cancer and tumors (Sanctuary, p. 17). The elimination of Technetium-99 m Sestamibi from the body is a procedure that involves understanding how it is absorbed into the body, the distribution in the body, and then removing the substance by use of reducing agents.
The myocardium is the cardiac muscle that is responsible for the effective functioning of the heart. Sestamibi is useful in the imaging of the cardiac muscle to check for any abnormalities. Gamma rays are used in sestamibi to penetrate the muscles and check for functionality defects. Perfusion of the myocardium is the process of body fluids especially blood flowing through the myocardium. (Fukuyama, p. 6)
Technetium sestamibi SPECT allows the absorption of gamma particles into the blood. The gamma particles are then distributed in the myocardium, and a gamma tracing camera used to monitor the movement of the gamma particles. The malfunctions, if present in the heart are then noticed by the movement of the gamma particle (Masuda, p. 4).