Between Medicine and Industry: Medical Physics and the Rise of the Radioisotope 1945–65.

This article explores the development of clinical uses for the artificial radioisotope between 1945 and 1965. As part of the broader nuclear enterprise, the radioisotope programme enjoyed powerful political and financial support from the British government. In 1945, medical uses for artificial radio...

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Publicado en:Contemporary British History Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 1 - 36
Autor principal: Kraft, Alison
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Mar2006
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        au: Kraft, Alison
        affil: Senior Research Fellow, Institute for the Study of Genetics, Biorisks and Society (IGBiS)
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        Radioisotopes
        Radioactivity
        Imaging systems
        Medicine
        British politics & government
        United Kingdom
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          United Kingdom
          Radioisotopes
          Radioactivity
          Imaging systems
          Medicine
          British politics & government
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        AERE Harwell
        Geiger Müller Counter
        Geiger Müller Counter
        Medical Physics
        Nuclear Medicine
        Radiochemical Centre
        Radioisotope
        Radium
      ab: This article explores the development of clinical uses for the artificial radioisotope between 1945 and 1965. As part of the broader nuclear enterprise, the radioisotope programme enjoyed powerful political and financial support from the British government. In 1945, medical uses for artificial radioactivity remained highly experimental, yet in less than two decades its application in imaging technologies formed a mainstay of diagnostic medicine. This study examines the range of technical, political, economic, institutional and professional factors that shaped the journey from medical periphery to medical practice. The role of medical physicists is emphasised and examined within the wider framework of radiation medicine, the nuclear industry and the Medical Research Council. The radioisotope came to form the basis of a vast new industry and became an important context for the post-war expansion of clinical research in Britain. It also spurred the development of a diverse set of medical technologies that were to profoundly shape the contours of contemporary medicine. More broadly, the study casts light on the evolving dynamics between the physical sciences, technology and medicine.
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