IAEA activities in nuclear medicine and related medical applications of nuclear techniques

One of the objectives of the International Atomic Energy Agency, as specified in its Statute, is to ''enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world.'' Its programmes in human health include both the exploitation and measurement of radiation fields (radiotherapy and dosimetry) and the use of radionuclides in an investigative or tracer role (the primary subject of this Symposium). The Agency carries out its programmes by means of several mechanisms. The technical co-operation programme, responding to requests for support from governments of Member States, is the dominant mechanism. Through it, experts may be made available to introduce new skills to a laboratory; essential equipment may be provided; and training may be organized in various forms. A second mechanism is the research contract programme, providing financial support to individual laboratories for particular research projects. A third mechanism is information exchange: scientific meetings, publications and the nuclear abstracts service of the International Nuclear Information System (INIS). In the field covered by this Symposium, the technical content of the projects supported by the Agency using these mechanisms may be classed in several categories. One domain that penetrates all others is instrumentation: selection, quality control and maintenance to prevent or correct breakdowns. Another category of activity, requiring the least sophisticated technology, is radioimmunoassay and related procedures. A third category involves the use of radionuclides in vivo, notably the classic applications of nuclear medicine in diagnosing the health status of individual patients, but including also investigation of the nature and aetiology of disease. A fourth category of project includes the study of the biological role of trace elements, especially by neutron activation analysis