Medical Imaging Techniques

Ionising radiation is a method of treatment that commonly used to treat cancer. Radiation therapy uses high-energy particles or waves, such as x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, or protons, to destroy or damage cancer cells. The radiation may be delivered by a machine outside the body (external-beam radiation therapy), or it may come from radioactive material placed in the body near cancer cells (internal radiation therapy, also called brachytherapy). Radiotherapy used to treat breast cancer. Breast cancer can be treated as indifferent treatment methods such as surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and biological therapy. The treatments apply depending on the stage and grade of cancer (how big it is and how far it spread), general health and whether experienced the menopause.

Radiotherapy uses controlled doses of radiation to kill cancer cells. It is usually given after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells.

The type of radiotherapy will depend on cancer and the type of surgery. Some women may not need to have radiotherapy at all.

The types and available are:

? Breast radiotherapy- after breast-conserving surgery, radiation is applied to the whole of the remaining breast tissue.

? Chest wall radiotherapy- after a mastectomy, radiotherapy is applied to the chest wall.

? Breast boost- some women may be offered a boost of high-dose radiotherapy in the area where the cancer was removed; however, the boost may affect the appearance of the breast, particularly if the patient has large breasts, and can sometimes have other side effects, including hardening of the breast tissue (fibrosis).

? Radiotherapy to the lymph nodes- where radiotherapy is aimed at the armpit (axilla) and the surrounding area to kill any cancer that may be present in the lymph nodes.

Ultrasound treatment

Ultrasound is not only used to diagnose illness but it also used to treat a different illness. Focused ultrasound is one of the ultrasound treatment technology which is used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Focused ultrasound is an early-stage, non-invasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with Parkinson's disease. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasonic energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the brain without damaging surrounding normal tissue. Where the beams converge, the ultrasound produces a variety of therapeutic effects enabling Parkinson’s disease to be treated without surgery. Currently, there is no cure for Parkinson’s and the major options for treatment of motor symptoms include drug therapy and invasive surgery but focused ultrasound could provide a non-invasive treatment alternative to surgery with less risk.

Relief ofMotor Symptoms

Focused ultrasound has the potential to achieve symptomatic relief by making thermal lesions deep in the brain to interrupt circuits involved with tremor and dyskinesia. Symptoms and targets being assessed for treatment using focused ultrasound include:

? Parkinsonian tremor – target in the thalamus (thalamotomy).

? Parkinsoniandyskinesia – target in the globus pallidus (pallidotomy) or subthalamic nucleus.

? Parkinsonian tremor or akinesia – target in the pallidothalamic tract.

Laser therapy

Laser therapy is a medical treatment that uses a strong beam of light to cut, burn, or destroy tissue. The term LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

Lasers can be used for many medical purposes. Because the laser beam is so small and precise, it allows healthcare providers to safely treat tissue without injuring the surrounding area. Laser Lithotripsy is one of the laser treatment that used to remove kidney stones.

Lasers are often used to:

? Treat varicose veins

? Improve vision during an eye surgery on the cornea

? Repair a detached retina of the eye

? Remove the prostate

? Remove kidney stones

? Remove tumors

Ionizing radiation treatment

Radiation therapy kills cancer cells by damaging their DNA (the molecules inside cells that carry genetic information and pass it from one generation to the next). Radiation therapy can either damage DNA directly or create charged particles (free radicals)within the cells that can in turn damage the DNA. Unlike treating cancer radiotherapy could possibly cause cancer. When atoms in living cells become ionized one of three things usually happen the cell dies, the cell repairs itself, or the cell mutates incorrectly and can become cancerous. Not all cells are affected by ionizing radiation in the same way.

If a patient who has a breast cancer need a radiotherapy, the treatment will begin about a month after the surgery or chemotherapy to give the patient body a chance to recover. In general, a breast cancer will probably have radiotherapy sessions three to five days a week, for three to six weeks and each session will only last a few minutes. Radiotherapy has side effects apart from causing cancerous cell. It could possibly irritate and darken the skin on the breast, which may lead to sore, red, weepy skin furthermore, extreme tiredness (fatigue), affect sex life and excess fluid build-up in arm caused by blockage of the lymph nodes under the arm. Radiation therapy offers an effective treatment for advanced cancer and the prime goal of radiation treatment is to inhibit the cancer cells multiplication potential and eventually kill the cells. However, radioresistance and repopulation (relapse or recurrence) at the primary site and at the malignant areas remain a significant clinical challenge in cancer control. Certain tumors are intrinsically radioresistant,while others acquire radioresistance during the treatment. To overcome the tumor cell radioresistance, it will be a challenging one to identify a tumor-specific pathways and inhibitors.

focused ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound using lower intensities, producing low-temperature rise (hyperthermia)and mechanical agitation, can also be utilized to deliver drugs to the brain and other areas of the body. For example, focused ultrasound beams are being studied to temporarily open up the blood-brain barrier to enable delivery of drugs to diseased brain tissue. This technique involves infusing a therapeutic agent along with gas-filled microbubbles into the bloodstream. The ultrasound is then applied to target areas in the brain, causing the bubbles to vibrate, loosening the tight junctions of the endothelial cells lining the blood vessels and allowing high concentrations of the drug to enter targeted tissues.

Focused ultrasound is a completely non-invasive method of thalamotomy a procedure in which a predefined small volume of brain tissue containing nerve cells causing the tremor is destroyed that could be an effective option for certain patients. It is performed while the patient is awake and involves no anesthesia, no incisions in the scalp, and no burr holes through the skull or insertion of electrodes into the brain. During focused ultrasound therapy, target cells in the thalamus are visualized in real-time using MR imaging. The highly precise treatment uses focused beams of acoustic energy to heat and destroy target cells without harming adjacent tissue. Because it is non-invasive, focused ultrasound could be an option for medically refractory ET patients (those who do not respond well to medication)who do not want to undergo surgery and a single treatment enables patients to recover rapidly and quickly return to activities of normal life (usually the next day). A patient might need up to 11 treatment depending on the stage of Parkinson's and probably 14 sonication’s over a few hours. MRI guided ultrasound may be an effective treatment for people with Parkinson’s who have failed medical therapy or who have severe medication induced dyskinesia. However, more information is needed before researchers fully understand this therapy and its long-term effects. Focused ultrasound needs further research in order to discover Long-term effects of the treatment, Safety, and efficacy for bilateral treatments and Safety and efficacy for repeated treatments.

Laser lithotripsy

Laser Lithotripsy is a procedure that uses shock waves to break up stones in the kidney, bladder, or ureter that are causing bleeding, damaging to kidney, pain and urinary tract infection. After the procedure, the tiny pieces of stones pass out of the patient body in urine.

Laser lithotripsy uses High energy shock waves, also called sound waves, guided by x-ray or ultrasound, pass through a patient body until they hit the kidney stones. If a patient awake might feel a tapping feeling when this starts. The waves break the stones into tiny pieces. Before the treatment procedure starts the patient take anesthesia to make the procedure pain free. Laser lithotripsy might not remove all kidney stones. The stone may be removed with a tube (endoscope) inserted into the kidney through a small surgical cut and A piece of the tube will be placed through the patient bladder or back into the kidney. This tube will drain urine from kidney until all the small pieces of stone pass out of the body. This may be done before or after lithotripsy treatment. Lithotripsy is a safe treatment most of the time but it could cause some possible complications which are bleeding around the kidney which may require to get a blood transfusion, kidney infection, pieces of the stone might block urine flow from the kidney(may cause several pain or damage to the kidney), ulcers in the stomach or small intestine and problems with kidney function after the procedure. The whole treatment of Laser lithotripsy should take about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The outcome of the treatment (how well the patient do) depends on the number of stones, their size and wherein the urinary system they are