Medical applications of nuclear physics and heavy-ion beams

Isotopes and accelerators, hallmarks of nuclear physics, are finding increasingly sophisticated and effective applications in the medical field. Diagnostic and therapeutic uses of radioisotopes are now a $10B/yr business worldwide, with over 10 million procedures and patient studies performed every year. This paper will discuss the use of isotopes for these applications. In addition, beams of protons and heavy ions are being more and more widely used clinically for treatment of malignancies. To be discussed here as well will be the rationale and techniques associated with charged-particle therapy, and the progress in implementation and optimization of these technologies for clinical use