The first human patient to receive a therapeutic dose of cyclotron-produced radioiodine for Graves' disease was treated at the Massachusetts General Hospital in early 1941. This procedure, directed by physician Saul Hertz, marked the inaugural successful clinical application of artificially produced radioactive material for human therapy, establishing a new foundation for the field of nuclear medicine.
Academic Foundation and Early Research
Born in Cleveland in 1905, Saul Hertz pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, earning Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1924. He subsequently completed his medical training at Harvard Medical School in 1929. Following his residency at Cleveland's Mount Sinai Hospital, Hertz joined the Thyroid Clinic and Metabolism Laboratories at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1931, where he served as Chief until 1943.
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In 1936, Hertz inquired with MIT president Karl Compton about the possibility of creating artificial radioactive iodine. Following confirmation that iodine could be rendered radioactive, Hertz collaborated with physicist Arthur Roberts in 1937. Utilizing a Geiger-Müller detector and neutron bombardment, they conducted experiments on 48 rabbits, proving that hyperplastic thyroid tissue absorbed more radioactive isotopes than healthy tissue. This finding established the viability of using radioactive iodine as a tracer for thyroid function.
Clinical Trials and Wartime Service
Initial research utilized iodine-128, which possessed an impractical 25-minute half-life. The discovery of iodine-131, which featured an eight-day half-life, enabled more effective clinical applications. After a series of 29 patient treatments, Hertz published a follow-up study in the May 1946 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, validating the safety and efficacy of the treatment. In 1943, Hertz joined the United States Navy Medical Corps, serving as an adjunct to the Manhattan Project to explore medical applications of atomic energy.
Fast facts
- Born: 1905, Cleveland
- Died: 1950
- Citizenship: United States
- Undergraduate Education: University of Michigan
- Medical Education: Harvard Medical School
- Primary Employer: Harvard University
- Field of Work: Nuclear Medicine
Questions readers ask
What medical condition did Saul Hertz first treat with radioactive iodine?
He treated patients suffering from Graves' disease, a form of hyperthyroidism.
What is the significance of the 1937 rabbit studies?
These studies proved that hyperplastic thyroid glands absorbed more radioactive iodine than normal glands, establishing the utility of the substance as a tracer.
Achievements
- Held posts at Harvard University
- Fields: nuclear medicine
