Nuclear Technology: An Atomic Job in Healthcare....

Nuclear technicians work in the field of nuclear energy...the splitting of atoms through a process called nuclear fission. Radioactivity is the spontaneous emission of energy and/or high-energy particles from the nuclei of atoms when they are split.

There are many kinds of roles for nuclear technicians. In the field of healthcare, radionuclides—unstable atoms that emit radiation spontaneously—are used to diagnose and treat disease. Radionuclides are purified and compounded to form radiopharmaceuticals. Nuclear medicine technologists administer radiopharmaceuticals to patients and then monitor the characteristics and functions of tissues or organs in which the drugs localise. Nuclear medicine differs from other diagnostic imaging technologies because it determines the presence of disease on the basis of metabolic changes, rather than changes in organ structure.

Nuclear medicine technologists operate cameras that detect and map the radioactive drug in a patient's body to create diagnostic images. A “scanner,” which creates images of the distribution of a radiopharmaceutical as it localises in and emits signals from the patient's body. The physician can then interpret the images.

NHSJobs adds hundreds of new jobs everyday including exciting roles in nuclear technology.  Join our mailing list to get up-to-date job alerts for nuclear technicians.