Technological developments in modern medicine over the past century have been nothing short of miraculous. Because of advances in surgical procedures, trauma care, and general health maintenance, modern medicine is light years ahead of anything that we could have possibly imagined 100 years ago. Many of our greatest advances have been in diagnostic procedures utilizing X-Ray and Gamma ray imaging.
In radiology and nuclear medicine, doctors, nurses, technicians, and even clerical staff work mere feet away from radioactive isotopes designed to shrink tumors, and instruments that use radiation to peer into human tissues on a daily basis. Not to mention that thousands of times a day, medical centers employ X-rays, MRI scanners, CAT scans, PET scans, cardiovascular imaging and ultrasound technology to diagnose and treat a multitude of conditions. Medical professionals who work around this technology every day would suffer devastating health consequences without lead shielding to block the radiation that would otherwise be absorbed by human beings.
