Motion Pictures
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.