Elemental analysis in medical physics and astro-geology

医学物理学和天体地质学中的元素分析

• 批准号: 249581-2007
• 负责人: OMeara, Joanne
• 金额: $ 1.89万
• 依托单位: University of Guelph
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2007-01-01 至 2008-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=364615
• 关键词: Elemental; analysis; medical; physics; astro

The central theme of the proposed research program is the application of radiation physics to elemental analysis in medical physics and astro-geology.  The program consists of three major initiatives:1) Measuring Bound Water in Martian Soil SamplesThe alpha-particle x-ray spectrometers (APXS) carried on the Mars Exploration Rovers during NASA's 2004/2006 mission have provided elemental analysis of a large number of Martian rock and soil samples.  There are some suggestions that these samples contain salts left behind after the evaporation of large bodies of water, and an advanced version of APXS will be deployed in 2009/2010 to further investigate this hypothesis.  This research project will investigate the sensitivity of indirect detection of light elements in Martian samples based on the observed scatter features present in the APXS spectra.2)Measuring Silver with X-ray FluorescenceOccupational exposure to silver can occur in many settings.  Furthermore, there has been a re-emergence of the medicinal use of silver compounds, promoted in alternative medicine. Such exposure can lead to adverse biological effects such as argyria, a permanent skin discoloration. This work will investigate the application of a non-invasive in vivo technique to detect silver in the skin of individuals who are at risk of developing argyria, with the aim of providing a means of intervening before the onset of this irreversible skin condition.3) Measuring Nitrogen with Gamma-ray Resonance AbsorptionThe ability to measure nitrogen is a direct means of assessing protein status in many nutritional disorders. The goal of this research is to investigate an alternative approach to the current method, which is problematic.  This new measurement technique has the potential to improve substantially the uniformity and dose of the current method, and would facilitate clinical studies in a number of medical and health-related fields, e.g. nutritional sciences, pediatrics, gerontology, kinesiology and rehabilitation sciences.

拟议研究计划的中心主题是辐射物理学在医学物理学和天体地质学元素分析中的应用。  该计划包括三个主要举措：1）测量火星土壤样本中的结合水美国宇航局2004/2006年任务期间火星探索漫游车上携带的α粒子X射线光谱仪（APXS）对大量火星岩石和土壤样本进行了元素分析。  有人认为这些样本中含有大量水体蒸发后留下的盐分，高级版本的 APXS 将在 2009/2010 年部署以进一步研究这一假设。  该研究项目将根据观察到的 APXS 光谱中存在的散射特征，研究间接检测火星样本中轻元素的灵敏度。2）用 X 射线荧光测量银银的职业暴露可能发生在许多环境中。  此外，银化合物的药用用途重新出现，并在替代医学中得到推广。这种接触可能会导致不良的生物效应，例如银中毒，一种永久性的皮肤变色。这项工作将研究应用非侵入性体内技术来检测有银中毒风险的个体皮肤中的银，目的是在这种不可逆转的皮肤状况发生之前提供一种干预手段。3) 用伽马射线共振吸收测量氮测量氮的能力是评估许多营养失调中蛋白质状态的直接方法。这项研究的目的是调查当前方法的替代方法，这是有问题的。  这种新的测量技术有可能大大提高当前方法的均匀性和剂量，并将促进许多医疗和健康相关领域的临床研究，例如。营养科学、儿科、老年学、运动机能学和康复科学。