The compound that carries oxygen to cells throughout the body contains iron. Iron has an atomic number of 26. Iron-59 is used to diagnose disorders in the blood. How is iron-59 different from all the other isotopes of iron? How is it the same?
Iron-59 is radioactive. It decays to cobalt-59 with a half live of 44.5days. When iron-59 decays, also gamma rays will be emitted. These gamma rays can be detected with a gamma detector. This allows to trace iron. It is like a label that you put on iron atoms. You could even trace it when it is inside the body using a gamma camera. I don't know about the blood disorders though. I can just tell you that iron-59 behaves the same as natural iron chemically. Just, you can trace it. You add iron in one place (in a specific chemical compound of your choice) and you see where it gets (into which compound it is transformed).
Iron-59 is radioactive. It decays to cobalt-59 with a half live of 44.5days. When iron-59 decays, also gamma rays will be emitted. These gamma rays can be detected with a gamma detector. This allows to trace iron. It is like a label that you put on iron atoms. You could even trace it when it is inside the body using a gamma camera. I don't know about the blood disorders though. I can just tell you that iron-59 behaves the same as natural iron chemically. Just, you can trace it. You add iron in one place (in a specific chemical compound of your choice) and you see where it gets (into which compound it is transformed).
