Use of Radioactivation Analysis in Medicine

Three aspects of radioactivation analysis are of current interest in medical research. Its very high sensitivity makes this method suitable for the detection and precise measurement of a large number of elements of undoubted physiological interest, particularly where the conventional methods of analytical chemistry cannot be used. In view of the fact that it can be used to determine a particular stable isotope of an element, activation analysis is also employed to follow what happens to a stable tracer in man. It is of especial value for studying very slow processes where use of a radioactive tracer is impossible or dangerous. In certain cases activation analysis can be used as a non-destructive method, making it possible for the total mass of an element in the organism (or a part thereof) to be determined in vivo. The authors give a number of examples to illustrate the three above-mentioned medical applications of activation analysis. (author)