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unit 21 C medical physics
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Unit 21cNon-ionising radiation technology
This type of technology has a lot of potential to cause damage to the human body it does not
pass through dense objects such as your bones or tissues however it possesses risks to the
human body and these all depend on the amount of radiation that the body gets the first risk
that it may get is the nervous system getting affected which can, in turn, lead to nausea and
the burning of skin and eyes. Below are the preactions and the health and safety risks, the
limitations and also the side effects of the wide variety of non-ionising radion technologies.
Health and safety risks of non-ionising radiation technology
A good common example of non-ionising radiation is an ultrasound this type of technology
can potentially damage the biological tissue of human bodies due to the heat it gives off
while the ultrasound is taking place. this does not only damage the tissue but can also start
the development of gas pockets in the tissues of the body. Another technology that can
cause damage to the biological tissues is laser treatments however the only dangers that the
body can have are the skin, eyes and tissue this is because laser treatments target only
these parts as they can only treat these parts of the body, sometimes the laser may be
misdirected this is a huge concern regarding health and safety the risks are that UV and IR
lasers are able to emit radiation this is not visible to the human eye, therefore, this may be
harmful towards the eye and cause the eye to become damaged or possibly burnt due to the
radiation exposure to the eyes. Another type of non-ionising radiation is MRI this can also
posses risks regarding health and safety this is because MRI contains very strong magnetic
fields so it is important that patients before the MRI scan metal implants because if they
don't it could cause them to have life threatening risks this is due to the sheer force and the
strength of the magnetic field to interfere with the patient's mechanism of the patient's
pacemaker. Patients are not the only ones at risk of this radiation exposure staff are at risk
too that's why it's vital that they do the correct preventive methods to avoid getting exposed
and affected by the radiation exposure.
Side effects of Non-ionising radiation technology
There is a wide verity of side effects that are caused by non-ionising radiation for instance
there are many types of ultrasounds that have a variety of side effects so a transvaginal
scan is one of the types of ultrasound its also called vaginal ultrasound the process requires
the insertion of an ultrasound probe placed inside the vagina this is done for a period of 15-
30 minutes this is to find out about conditions such as muscle tumours located in the uterus,
pelvic pain and bleeding that is abnormal. this procedure can find many patients to be very
uncomfortable and may not like this procedure it may also cause pain and discomfort to
them. so the side effect is discomfort and pain and many people may not want to do this due
to it being embarrassing. Another type of ultrasound known as the endoscopic ultrasound
this type produces images of the internal organs and the organs surrounding them too the
method requires a long tube to be inserted inside the patient's mouth and into the
oesophagus, it can also be inserted into the rectum or colon this procedure is used to detect
for any cancers, gallstone and heart problems this method is also intrusive and leads the
patients having extreme pain and discomfort there is medication such as pain killers and the
, throat is also sprayed with an anaesthetic spray but unfortunately, the side effects will
remain after the painkillers wear off the patients may also experience a sore throat,
infections but mild ones and also vomiting.
Another type of ionising radiation known as the laser also has side effects and these are
scarring of the skin not only this but the skin tone may change in one area leaving a
permanent change to your skin which could lead to people's lives to change another side
effect is extreme pain and a lot of bleeding during the procedure and also after the
procedure and may stick around for a few days to weeks which could affect the patients daily
life.
Some non-ionising radiations may have a frequency which is in a low range so from 300HZ
to 1MHZ this low frequency contains induction currents and these currents can interfere with
the function of the central nervous system also in the range of 10GHz to 300GHz this also
may be harmful as the tissue in the body may heat up and therefore causing damage
Limitations
There is a variety of limitations associated with ionising radiation one of which is the
ultrasound if a digestive system was to go through an ultrasound scan the limitations would
be that the patients would not be able to consume food for a few hours before the
examination is to take place this may cause the patient to feel discomfort and hungry.
Patients who need to take an ultrasound of their pregnancy or pelvic pain would need to
consume a large quantity of water. This is so water is retained in the body while the scan
gets complete. Young children are not able to use lasers because of their age. There is an
age limit on lasers, for example, in laser eye surgery in the UK you have to be over the age
of 18 and still some companies only allow 21 onwards.
MRI scans are another example of non-ionising radiation that has limitations one of them is
that if the patient holds a pacemaker they may not be able to undergo the procedure as it
would not always work another limitation of this is that patients who are claustrophobic may
find it extremely hard to under this procedure so therefore they may refuse to cause them to
not get examined, The noise as well may be a problem for some patients who suffer from
certain conditions the noise may scare them and put off patients from having the scan.
Ionising Radiation
This technology is very similar to non-ionising radiation and also has a big potential to create
a lot of damage to the human body.it uses radiation and this radiation is from
electromagnetic waves that contain a lot of energy that has the potential to break chemical
bonds which is why it makes it a lot more dangerous than non-ionising radiation technology
as when too much energy is exposed there could be a possibility of cell tissue damage and
cancer which could, in turn, lead to death.
Health and safety risks of ionising radiation technologies
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