One unique aspect of a nuclear imaging test is its extreme sensitivity to abnormalities in an organ s structure or function. Nuclear imaging is a safe painless and cost effective way of gathering information that may otherwise be unavailable or require a more expensive and risky diagnostic test. Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose and determine the severity of or treat a variety of diseases including many types of cancers heart disease gastrointestinal endocrine neurological disorders and other abnormalities within the body.
One example is radioactive iodine i 131. The radiopharmaceutical can be swallowed injected or inhaled. The same agents that are used in nuclear imaging can be used to deliver treatment.
That was when the us fda approved the first radiopharmaceutical sodium iodide i 131 for treating thyroid conditions. The field has a long history but its application in medicine really began in the 1950s. Nuclear imaging and nuclear medicine involve the use of small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose monitor and treat disease.
Cardiologists have used nuclear imaging tests successfully for more than five decades. Chadda and his team of certified nurses surgeons and technicians to detect the onset of heart disease at the earliest stage long before our patients notice symptoms. Nuclear imaging allows dr.
The images are digitally generated on a computer and transferred to a nuclear medicine physician who interprets the images to make a diagnosis. Nuclear medicine imaging is a method of producing images by detecting radiation from different parts of the body after a radioactive tracer is given to the patient. There are a number of.
Nuclear imaging is a form of medical imaging in which nuclear isotopes also known as radionuclides are used as part of the imaging study with the goal of getting information about the patient s body which can be used in diagnosis treatment and monitoring of disease. This section includes radiopharmaceuticals and tracers pet ct spect ct and pet mri. Molecular imaging also called nuclear imaging includes positron emission computed tomography pet and single photon emission computed tomography spect imaging.
The radiotracer travels through the area being examined and gives off energy in the form of gamma rays which are detected by a special camera and a computer to create images of the.
Nuclear imaging. Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease nuclear medicine imaging in a sense is radiology done inside out or endoradiology because it records radiation emitting from within the body rather than radiation that is generated by external sources like x rays in addition nuclear medicine scans differ. Nuclear medicine imaging uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers that are typically injected into the bloodstream inhaled or swallowed.
Nuclear medicine imaging uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers that are typically injected into the bloodstream inhaled or swallowed. Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease nuclear medicine imaging in a sense is radiology done inside out or endoradiology because it records radiation emitting from within the body rather than radiation that is generated by external sources like x rays in addition nuclear medicine scans differ.
