Why Is Cobalt-60 Used In Gamma Knife?

Gamma Knife and Cancer Treatment Stereotactic Radiosurgery using Cobalt-60 therapy allows doctors to deliver higher doses of radiation to tumours, while limiting damage to the surrounding healthy tissue and organs.

Why is cobalt-60 a good source of gamma rays?

Cobalt-60 (60Co) and caesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) are the most widely used sources of gamma radiation. Co produces gamma rays with energies of 1.173 and 1.332 MeV and has a half-life of 5.27 years, whereas ¹³⁷Cs produces gamma rays with an energy of 0.662 MeV and has a longer half-life of 30.1 years.

Is cobalt-60 used in Gamma Knife surgery?

The Gamma Knife^®consists of a large, heavily shielded hemisphere containing cobalt-60 sources. The collimated beams of radiation emanating from the cobalt-60 sources are positioned to converge on a single point within the unit, where the procedure takes place.

How does cobalt-60 emit gamma rays?

Cobalt-60 is artificially produced by bombarding a target material, either cobalt-59 or nickel-60, with neutrons. This reaction is produced by nuclear weapons detonations and in nuclear reactors. IS COBALT-60 HAZARDOUS? Cobalt-60 emits two high energy gamma rays, making cobalt-60 both an internal and external hazard.

What isotope does Gamma Knife use?

Physics and basic principles of the Gamma Knife
The device uses 60Cobalt as a radiation source. 60Co decays through beta decay to a stable isotope of nickel (60Ni) with a half life of 5.26 years.

Why should cobalt-60 be used?

What is it used for? Co-60 is used medically for radiation therapy as implants and as an external source of radiation exposure. It is used industrially in leveling gauges and to x-ray welding seams and other structural elements to detect flaws. Co-60 also is used for food irradiation, a sterilization process.

What are the benefits of using cobalt-60?

The advantages of Co/sup 60/ therapy over conventional x-ray therapy, stemming from the fact that in the lst instance energy absorption within the tissues is by the Compton effect and in the 2nd case by the photoelectric effect, are: (1) increased skin tolerance, (2) reduced bone absorption, (3) increase in depth dose,

How much cobalt-60 is in a Gamma Knife?

192- 201 cobalt-60
The Gamma Knife Unit
The Gamma Knife contains 192- 201 cobalt-60 sources of approximately 30 curies each, placed in a circular array in a heavily shielded unit. The unit directs gamma radiation very precisely to a target point.

Why is cobalt used in radiotherapy?

The main reason for its wide use in radiotherapy is that it has a longer half-life, 5.27 years, than many other gamma emitters. However, this half-life still requires cobalt sources to be replaced about every 5 years.

How does cobalt-60 sterilize?

Cobalt-60 is type of ionizing radiation. Gamma rays from a source penetrate the targeted material and knock electrons from orbit. For sterilization applications this has the effect of disrupting DNA, which renders any microorganisms present nonviable.

Is cobalt-60 alpha beta or gamma?

Type of Radiation Emitted: Beta Particles.

What metal can stop gamma rays?

Lead (Pb)
Traditional Lead (Pb) Shielding
Lead is a chemical element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable and corrosion-resistant material³. The high density of lead (11.34 grams per cm³) makes it a useful shield against X-ray and gamma-ray radiation.

What metal absorbs gamma radiation?

There are three types of radiation: alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays. Beta particles can be blocked by a sheet of aluminum, but gamma rays require several inches of lead, concrete or steel to be stopped.

Why is cobalt-60 unstable?

One of its synthetic isotopes, Cobalt-60 (Co-60), has an extra neutron in its nucleus that makes it unstable. As it breaks down, Co-60 emits high energy, “ionizing” radiation that can break molecular bonds.

What is the most common isotope used for gamma radiography?

Two of the more common industrial gamma-ray sources for industrial radiography are iridium-192 and cobalt-60. These isotopes emit radiation in a few discreet wavelengths.

What disease can cobalt-60 Treat?

Medical-grade Cobalt-60 is used worldwide to battle cancer and for radiation therapy for the treatment of complex brain conditions.

How does a cobalt-60 work?

Cobalt-60 systems, like the Gamma Knife, deliver radiation beams through 192 circular pinholes in a fixed helmet worn by the patient. The pinhole radiation meets at the tumor site, delivering a high dose, while the surrounding healthy tissue and critical brain structures receive minimal radiation.

Is cobalt-60 stable or radioactive?

radioactive
cobalt-60, radioactive isotope of cobalt used in industry and medicine. Cobalt-60 is the longest-lived radioactive isotope of cobalt, with a half-life of 5.27 years. It is produced by irradiating the stable isotope cobalt-59 with neutrons in a nuclear reactor.

What does the 60 mean in cobalt-60?

: a heavy radioactive isotope of cobalt having the mass number 60 produced in nuclear reactors and used as a source of gamma rays especially in place of radium (as in the treatment of cancer and in radiography)

What are 3 important uses of cobalt?

Cobalt is also used to make airbags in automobiles; catalysts for the petroleum and chemical industries; cemented carbides (also called hardmetals) and diamond tools; corrosion- and wear-resistant alloys; drying agents for paints, varnishes, and inks; dyes and pigments; ground coats for porcelain enamels; high-speed

Is cobalt-60 natural or man made?

Cobalt-60 is not found in nature. It is a synthetic radioactive isotope made by neutron activation of Cobalt-59. Cobalt-60 is produced off site in nuclear reactors and transported in special shipping containers (casks) to the sterilization facility.