What is a Nuclear Medicine Procedure
Nuclear Medicine specialists use safe, painless, and cost-effective techniques to image the body and treat disease. Nuclear Medicine imaging is unique, because it provides doctors with information about both structure and function. It is a way to gather medical information that would otherwise be unavailable, require surgery, or necessitate more expensive diagnostic tests. Nuclear medicine imaging procedures often identify abnormalities very early in the progress of a disease, long before many medical problems are apparent with other diagnostic tests.
What is a Nuclear Medicine scan?
Nuclear medicine uses very small amounts of radioactive materials (radiopharmaceuticals) to diagnose and treat disease. In imaging, the radiopharmaceuticals are detected by special types of cameras that work with computers to provide very precise pictures about the area of the body being imaged. In treatment, the radiopharmaceuticals go directly to the organ being treated. The amount of radiation in a typical nuclear medicine imaging procedure is comparable with that received during a diagnostic x-ray, and the amount received in a typical treatment procedure is kept within a safe limits.
What Can I Expect During a Nuclear Medicine Study?
The Nuclear Medicine technologist will explain the procedure, answer any questions. you might have, and then give you a small amount of radiotracer, which is injected, swallowed, or inhaled. The imaging portion of your exam may begin immediately, or up to 72 hours later, depending on the kind of procedure you are having. If your exam is scheduled later, you may leave the facility. The technologist will tell you when you are to return and if you can eat and drink while you are gone.
When it is time for your images to be taken, the technologist will help you on to the exam table. A special camera will be positioned over the part of your body being studied to create a series of images. It is important to hold as still as possible while the images are being taken. The camera is open on both sides. For some exams the camera will be close to your face.
What are some common uses for Nuclear Medicine?
Physicians use radionuclide imaging procedures to visualize the structure and function of an organ, tissue, bone or system of the body.
Nuclear medicine imaging scans are preformed to:
- Analyze kidney function.
- Visualize heart blood flow and function
- Lungs for respiratory and blood flow problems
- Identify inflammation or disease of the gallbladder.
- Evaluate bones for fractures, infections, arthritis and tumors.
- Determine the presence or spread of cancer in various parts of the body.
- Identify bleeding into the bowel.
- Locate the presence of infection.
- Investigate abnormalities in the brain, such as seizures, memory loss and abnormalities in the blood flow
- Localize the lymph nodes before surgery in patients with breast cancer or melanoma.
Nuclear Medicine therapies include:
- Radioactive iodine (I-131) therapy used to treat hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland, such as Grave’s disease) and thyroid cancer.
- Radioactive antibodies used to treat certain forms of lymphoma.
- Radioactive materials used to treat painful bone tumor metastases.
What should I do to prepare for the procedure?
You will receive specific instructions based on the type of scan you are undergoing.
Women should always inform their physician or the technologist if there is any possibility that they are pregnant or if they are breast feeding their baby.
You should inform the technologist of any medications you are taking, including vitamins and herbal supplements.
What will I experience after the procedure?
Most nuclear medicine procedures are painless and are rarely associated with significant discomfort or side effects.
Unless your physician tells you otherwise, you may resume your normal activities after your nuclear medicine scan. If any special instructions are necessary, you will be informed by a technologist before you leave the nuclear medicine department.
Through the natural process of radioactive decay, the small amount of radiotracer in your body will lose its radioactivity over time. It may also pass out of your body through your urine or stool during the first few hours or days following the test. You should also drink plenty of water to help flush the radioactive material out of your body as instructed by the nuclear medicine personnel.
