Did You Know?
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Tritium is a heavy isotope of hydrogen, with one proton and two neutrons. For more information, see: For a lesson about this topic, see: |
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| Dr. Harold Johns of Saskatoon with his "Cobalt Bomb" in 1951 |
Introduction
Nowhere is nuclear technology more widely accepted than in the medical field. Canadian-produced medical isotopes for nuclear medicine are used in over 60,000 procedures each day, 5,000 in Canada alone.
Nuclear medicine largely started in Canada in 1951, when the first two cancer treatment machines using cobalt-60 (radioisotopes) were built. One was built by Dr. Harold Johns of Saskatoon and one by Eldorado Mining and Refining Ltd., later to become part of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and then later again part of MDS Nordion. MDS Nordion provides innovative targeted cancer treatments for a variety of conditions including liver and brain cancer, and non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Many of these target cancer from within the body to deliver a higher concentration of treatment to the tumour.
A global leader, Canada’s MDS Nordion provides innovative technologies for medical imaging, targeted cancer treatments, and sterilization of medical devices. Their innovation touches the lives of millions of people in more than 70 countries around the world. Although radiotherapy to treat cancer is the most commonly known use of nuclear technology in medicine, its application in diagnostics and research also makes up a significant portion of the use of radioisotopes in the medical field. Around the world, MDS Nordion supplies over half of the medical isotopes used in capturing molecular images. These images enable physicians to diagnose and treat a multitude of diseases including cardiac and neurological conditions, in addition to several types of cancers.
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| Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's NRU reactor produces 50% of the world's medical isotopes. |
Canada’s nuclear infrastructure is essential to the global medical isotope supply. MDS Nordion processes materials from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) at the Chalk River Laboratories to produce 50% of the world’s medical isotopes. The need for radioisotopes and the vulnerability of their production was underscored when the NRU reactor at the Chalk River Laboratories was shut down on November 19, 2007 for nearly a month (normal shutdowns are about five days once each month). About 45% of the world production of molybdenum-99, shipped daily to hospitals around the world, is produced by the NRU. This isotope is used in four out of five nuclear medicine procedures. Canada also supplies 75% of the world’s cobalt-60 (produced in nuclear reactors at Bruce Power and Pickering in Ontario and Gentilly-2 in Quebec) used to sterilize more than 45% of the world’s single-use medical supplies and devices, such as bandages, catheters and syringes. This technology is also used to sterilize a vast array of consumer products, including food, contact lens solution and cosmetics.
Research in health sciences and nuclear science has made nuclear technology one of the great tools of modern medicine.
