Electromagnetic waves and radiation rays are widely used as a method of treatment, as well as for examination. One type of light that is quite widely used in the medical world is gamma rays.
Gamma rays can come from natural sources such as radon gas, which is a naturally occurring radioactive element on earth and in outer space. However, gamma rays can also be created by humans using special machines and radioactive materials, such as polonium, radium, cobalt, and iridium.
Gamma rays are commonly used as nuclear energy power plants. However, apart from that, gamma rays are also quite often used in the medical world.
Benefits of Gamma Rays for Health
The following are some of the benefits of gamma rays in the medical or health field:
Cancer treatment
Gamma rays can be used as radiotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer. Exposure to this light can cause damage to the DNA of cancer cells, thereby inhibiting the growth and spread of cancer cells.
However, the use of gamma rays must be done carefully and directed precisely to the area of the body to be treated. If not, gamma rays can also damage healthy body cells.
Brain and neurosurgery procedures
One method of therapy using gamma rays which is now quite widely used is the gamma knife or knife surgery method gamma knife. Despite being called a knife, this method does not require any incisions.
Gamma knife surgery is done by directing gamma ray radiation at the tumor area or cancer cells growing in brain tissue to kill the abnormal tissue.
In addition to treating brain tumors, gamma ray surgery can also be used to treat other disorders of the nerves and brain, such as arteriovenous malformations or AVMs and trigeminal neuralgia.
Compared to conventional brain surgery methods, this gamma ray surgical method has several advantages, namely minimizing the pain that appears, having a low risk of complications, and a faster postoperative recovery period.
Medical equipment sterilization
Gamma rays can also be used to sterilize medical equipment. Compared to other methods, the sterilization of medical equipment with gamma rays has several advantages, namely better exposure to gamma rays and is more effective in killing all kinds of viruses, bacteria, and parasites.
Although it is quite effective, sterilization of medical equipment with gamma rays cannot be used to clean all kinds of medical devices, such as medical equipment made from polymers, because it can damage the medical device.
In addition to the above benefits, gamma rays can also be used to sterilize food by means of food irradiation. Food irradiation is the process of removing bacteria that can potentially cause food poisoning. This process can also be used to preserve food.
Although it is quite common for packaging sterilization in the food industry. However, several studies show that consuming too much food that has been through the irradiation process may be bad for health. This process is thought to reduce the nutritional content in food.
Gamma rays do have benefits for humans. However, too often exposure to gamma rays is also not good for health. This is because long-term exposure to gamma rays can cause several health problems, such as cancer.
Therefore, the use of technology that utilizes gamma rays is not recommended to be done too often in order to reduce this risk.
If you are planning to undergo treatment using gamma rays, consult the doctor who treats you. The doctor will determine the best treatment steps according to your condition.