Nuclear medicine incorporates radioactive materials to help diagnose and treat a wide variety of diseases and disorders. It helps physicians to diagnose disease earlier to make medical treatment more effective. In diagnosing techniques, very small amounts of radioactive materials are introduced into the body. Because they are attracted to specific organs, bones or tissues, the emissions they produce can provide crucial information about a particular type of cancer or disease. Information gathered during a nuclear medicine technique is more comprehensive than other imaging procedures because it describes organ function, not just structure. So, many diseases and cancers can be diagnosed, and therefore treated, much earlier.
Because nuclear medicine procedures utilize very small doses of short-lived isotopes (ones that only stay radioactive for a few hours or days), the amount of radiation received
is generally less than or equal to that of an x-ray. Whole body and healthy tissue doses can be minimized while the radioisotope is specifically targeted toward the affected tissue or organ.
Currently thyroid and prostate cancers, hyperthyroidism, cancer-related bone pain, and polycythaemia, or abnormal red blood cell and blood increase issues, utilize nuclear medical procedures the most. While Europe uses it to treat arthritis, the U.S. FDA has not yet approved radioisotope treatments for arthritis here.
How Does Nuclear Medicine Work?
The technology is highly complex, but generally the procedure follows these 4 basic steps:
- The Patient - is given a compound which is injected, swallowed or inhaled.
Different compounds are used to study different parts of the body.
- The Compound - travels throughout he body, giving off gamma rays.
The gamma rays show the location of the compound in the body.
- Diagnostic Equipment - detects the gamma rays and records them as flashes of light.
These are used to create pictures of the part of the body being studied.
A computer may help make images easier to interpret.
- The Results - are interpreted by a Radiologist and the report sent to the
patient's primary care physician.
What About Safety?
Every precaution is taken to ensure the safety of our patients. Exposure to radiation is low, as only tiny quantities are used for diagnoses. Exposure is short, as compounds lose most of their radioactivity in a relatively short period of time (hours or days) and are
usually quickly eliminated from the body. Radiation exposure is carefully controlled, as our facilities, equipment and materials meet strict safety standards.
For more information on our nuclear medicine program, call 772.589.3186, ext. 5440.