Available for loan without charge from the AEC Headquarters Film
Library, Division of Public Information, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission,
Washington, D. C. 20545 and from other AEC film libraries.
_Radioisotope Applications in Medicine_, 26 minutes, black and white,
sound, 1964. Produced by the Educational Broadcasting Corporation
under the joint direction of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission’s
Divisions of Isotopes Development and Nuclear Education and Training,
and the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies. This film traces the
development of the use of radioisotopes and radiation in the field of
medicine from the early work of Hevesy to the present. Descriptions of
the following are given: study of cholesterol and arteriosclerosis;
cobalt labeled vitamin B₁₂ used to study pernicious anemia; history of
iodine radioisotopes and the thyroid; brain tumor localization;
determination of body fluid volumes; red cell lifetime; and use of
radioisotopes for the treatment of various diseases.
_Medicine_, 20 minutes, sound, color, 1957. Produced by the U. S.
Information Agency. Four illustrations of the use of radioactive
materials in diagnosis and therapy are given: exact preoperative
location of brain tumor; scanning and charting of thyroids; cancer
therapy research; and the study of blood diseases and hardening of the
arteries.
_Radiation Protection in Nuclear Medicine_, 45 minutes, sound, color,
1962. Produced by the Fordel Films for the Bureau of Medicine and
Surgery of the U. S. Navy. This semitechnical film demonstrates the
procedures devised for naval hospitals to protect against the gamma
radiation emitted from materials used in radiation therapy.
The following films in the Magic of the Atom Series were produced by the
Handel Film Corporation. They are each 12½ minutes long, have sound, and
are in black and white.
_The Atom and the Doctor_ (1954) shows three applications of
radioisotopes in medicine: testing for leukemia and other blood
disorders with radioiron; diagnosis of thyroid conditions with
radioiodine; and cancer research and therapy with radiogallium.
_The Atom in the Hospital_ (1961) (available in color and black and
white) illustrates the following facilities at the City of Hope
Medical Center in Los Angeles: the stationary cobalt source that is
used to treat various forms of malignancies; a rotational therapy unit
called the “cesium ring”, which revolves around the patient and
focuses its beam on the diseased area; and the total-body irradiation
chamber for studying the effects of radiation on living things.
Research with these facilities is explained.
_Atomic Biology for Medicine_ (1956) explains experiments performed to
discover effects of radiation on mammals.
_Atoms for Health_ (1956) outlines two methods of diagnosis and
treatment possible with radiation: a diagnostic test of the liver, and
cancer therapy with a radioactive cobalt device. Case histories are
presented step-by-step.
_Radiation: Silent Servant of Mankind_ (1956) depicts four uses of
controlled radiation that can benefit mankind: bombardment of plants
from a radioactive cobalt source to induce genetic changes for study
and crop improvement; irradiation of deep-seated tumors with a beam
from a particle accelerator; therapy of thyroid cancer with
radioactive iodine; and possibilities for treating brain tumors.