How was nuclear medicine discovered?
1 Answer
Jul 16, 2014
Nuclear medicine is based on the discoveries of many scientists.
It began when Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie discovered artificially produced radioisotopes in 1934.
Ernest Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron, recognized the possibilities for medicine.
In 1937 his brother, John Lawrence, administered phosphorus-32 produced by his brother to a patient with leukemia. This was the first time that a radioactive isotope had been used to treat of a human disease.
John Lawrence is now known as the father of nuclear medicine.
