Element · Layer 0, Atomic number 71

Lutetium

The last and densest rare-earth metal, used in medical scanner crystals and in a radioactive form that targets cancer.

Also called cassiopeium

Built from

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About

Lutetium is the last of the lanthanides: the hardest, the densest and one of the rarest. It was discovered in 1907 by Georges Urbain in Paris, and independently by Carl Auer von Welsbach and Charles James. Urbain named it after Lutetia, the Roman name for Paris. It is separated from rare-earth ores in small amounts and is expensive.

Lutetium's most visible use is in hospitals. Crystals of lutetium silicate flash with light when hit by gamma rays, and many PET scanners use them to build their images. A radioactive form, lutetium-177, can be attached to molecules that seek out certain tumors, delivering radiation right where it is needed, for example in advanced prostate cancer.

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