Radiation dose calculator, England, 1950-1979
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy is used to kill cancerous cells in the body and prevent them spreading. However, too much radiation is dangerous as it can affect surrounding healthy cells. This calculator would have been used to determine exactly how long the treatment should last. Carried out in specialised hospital units, radiotherapy treatments are spread out over days and weeks to allow healthy cells to recover. The calculator was made by Abbot Brown, a printer based in Dorset, England.
Object number:
1979-598 Pt37
Related Themes and Topics
Glossary:
Glossary: radiation dose calculator
No description.
Glossary: cancer
Any cancerous tumour. It arises from the abnormal and uncontrolled division of cells which then invade and destroy the surrounding tissues. Cancer cells spread and can form secondary tumours some distance from the original.
Glossary: radiation therapy
A type of medical treatment that uses high energy radiation such as X-rays.
Glossary: radiation
Transmission of any type of energy by means of rays, waves or as mobile sub-atomic particles (electrons, neutrons and protons).