World Radiography Day: The significant role of radiographers
World Radiology Day is the anniversary of the day X-rays were invented by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895 and the technology that has saved billions of lives the world over since then.
NOVEMBER 8 holds great significance in the radiography sector.
This is the day that marks the invention of X-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen, dating back to 1895 in Germany, and the technology that has saved billions of lives the world over since then.
This year’s World Radiography Day is themed, ‘Radiographers at the Forefront of Patient Safety’, as an appreciation of the role played by radiographers or radiological technologies in fostering and preserving radiation safety and general patient safety.
The scope of radiation medicine has broadened immensely over the past 50 years, with three specialities being born, namely, diagnostic radiology, therapeutic radiology and nuclear medicine radiology.
Diagnostic Radiology
Diagnostic radiology is a medical process that involves undertaking a range of imaging procedures to obtain images of the inside of the body. The diagnostic radiologist then carefully interprets these images to diagnose illness and injury. Interpretations from these images help carve a niche for the kind of medicinal assistance needed.
Diagnostic radiology is itself broken down into different spheres, namely, plain radiology (X-rays), computed tomography (CT Scan), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI Scans), sonography (also known as ultrasound examination) and nuclear medicine imaging techniques.
Therapeutic Radiology
Therapeutic Radiology is also known as radiation therapy or radiation oncology, which is the use of radiation to treat cancer and other tissue-defect diseases. Radiation in many forms is used to kill or prevent cancer cells from multiplying. This kind of radiation may be used to cure or control cancer or may be used to mitigate some of the symptoms linked to cancer.
Nuclear Medicine Radiology
This type of radiology involves the use of very small amounts of radioactive materials, or radiopharmaceuticals, to examine organ function and structure.
Because of its complexity, nuclear medicine is a combination of many different elements and these include mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer technology and medicine. This branch of radiology is often used to diagnose and treat abnormalities very early in the progression of a disease such as thyroid cancer.
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