What is Nuclear Medicine?

Nuclear Medicine, a radiology specialty which has been around since 1950, uses safe and cost-effective techniques to image the body and to treat certain diseases. These techniques help document and track organ or system function.

How does it work?

Nuclear Medicine uses very small amounts of radioactive materials or "radiopharmaceuticals" which emit low-level radioactive rays, in order to diagnose or treat disease. Radiopharmaceuticals are materials that are "attracted" to certain organs, or systems in the body. Once a radiopharmaceutical is in the body, patients are placed under a special camera which form images from the radioactive rays emitted.

Radiation? Is that safe?

Absolutely. About 10 to 12 million Nuclear Medicine imaging and therapy procedures are performed in the United States every year! The radiation exposure patients receive is comparable, if not less, than that received during a general x-ray procedure and side effects are rare to non-existent.

Some Common Nuclear Medicine Procedures:

Bone Scans: Three types of bone scans are available. 3-phase, limited, and whole body. These procedures consist of and injection, followed by 2-3 hour delayed images.

Cardiac Scans: These scans usually involve acquiring images of the heart before and after a stress test. The testing lasts approximately 3-3 ½ hours (not all of which is actual imaging or stress testing).

Hepatobiliary Scans:These tests are used to help diagnose liver or gallbladder disease. The test lasts about 1-1 ½ hours.

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