full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Pedro Brugarolas: Why do hospitals have particle accelerators?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


The radiation that the tracer emits is what makes this possible. The isotopes used in PET decay by posoitrn emission. Positrons are essentially electrons with positive charge. When emitted, a positron collides with an electron from another molecule in its surroundings. This causes a tiny nuclear reaction in which the mass of the two pieratcls is converted into two high-energy photons, similar to X-rays, that sohot out in opposite directions. These photons will then impact an array of paired raidtaion detectors in the snecnar walls. The software in the scanner uses those deottecrs to estimate where inside the body the collision occurred and create a 3D map of the tracer’s distribution. PET scans can detect the spread of cancer before it can be spotted with other types of ignimag. They’re also revolutionizing the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease by allowing doctors to see aimlyod, the telltale protein buildup that otherwise couldn’t be coenrmfid without an autopsy. Meanwhile, researchers are actively working to develop new tracers and enapxd the possibilities of what PET snacs can be used for.

Open Cloze


The radiation that the tracer emits is what makes this possible. The isotopes used in PET decay by ________ emission. Positrons are essentially electrons with positive charge. When emitted, a positron collides with an electron from another molecule in its surroundings. This causes a tiny nuclear reaction in which the mass of the two _________ is converted into two high-energy photons, similar to X-rays, that _____ out in opposite directions. These photons will then impact an array of paired _________ detectors in the _______ walls. The software in the scanner uses those _________ to estimate where inside the body the collision occurred and create a 3D map of the tracer’s distribution. PET scans can detect the spread of cancer before it can be spotted with other types of _______. They’re also revolutionizing the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease by allowing doctors to see _______, the telltale protein buildup that otherwise couldn’t be _________ without an autopsy. Meanwhile, researchers are actively working to develop new tracers and ______ the possibilities of what PET _____ can be used for.

Solution


  1. scanner
  2. shoot
  3. confirmed
  4. radiation
  5. detectors
  6. scans
  7. expand
  8. imaging
  9. amyloid
  10. particles
  11. positron

Original Text


The radiation that the tracer emits is what makes this possible. The isotopes used in PET decay by positron emission. Positrons are essentially electrons with positive charge. When emitted, a positron collides with an electron from another molecule in its surroundings. This causes a tiny nuclear reaction in which the mass of the two particles is converted into two high-energy photons, similar to X-rays, that shoot out in opposite directions. These photons will then impact an array of paired radiation detectors in the scanner walls. The software in the scanner uses those detectors to estimate where inside the body the collision occurred and create a 3D map of the tracer’s distribution. PET scans can detect the spread of cancer before it can be spotted with other types of imaging. They’re also revolutionizing the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease by allowing doctors to see amyloid, the telltale protein buildup that otherwise couldn’t be confirmed without an autopsy. Meanwhile, researchers are actively working to develop new tracers and expand the possibilities of what PET scans can be used for.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
pet scan 2
positron emission 2
pet scans 2


Important Words


  1. actively
  2. allowing
  3. amyloid
  4. array
  5. autopsy
  6. body
  7. buildup
  8. cancer
  9. charge
  10. collides
  11. collision
  12. confirmed
  13. converted
  14. create
  15. decay
  16. detect
  17. detectors
  18. develop
  19. diagnosis
  20. directions
  21. disease
  22. distribution
  23. doctors
  24. electron
  25. electrons
  26. emission
  27. emits
  28. emitted
  29. essentially
  30. estimate
  31. expand
  32. imaging
  33. impact
  34. isotopes
  35. map
  36. mass
  37. molecule
  38. nuclear
  39. occurred
  40. paired
  41. particles
  42. pet
  43. photons
  44. positive
  45. positron
  46. positrons
  47. possibilities
  48. protein
  49. radiation
  50. reaction
  51. researchers
  52. revolutionizing
  53. scanner
  54. scans
  55. shoot
  56. similar
  57. software
  58. spotted
  59. spread
  60. surroundings
  61. telltale
  62. tiny
  63. tracer
  64. tracers
  65. types
  66. walls
  67. working