Uses of Lutetium
Lutetium oxide is used to make catalysts for cracking hydrocarbons in the petrochemical industry.
177Lu is used in cancer therapy and because of its long half-life, Lu is used to date the age of meteorites.
Lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) is currently used in detectors in positron emission tomography (PET). This is a noninvasive medical scan that creates a three-dimensional image of the body’s cellular activity.