Nuclear medicine

Nuclear medicine is the use of radioactive materials to diagnose or treat disease.

The goal of nuclear medicine diagnostics is to produce images of a certain organ's metabolic processes and to detect at an early stage any deviations from normal functions. This calls for the use of radioactive substances, which give off gamma rays (radionuclides) when they break down. These enrich themselves selectively in the organs being examined and "mark" the specific metabolic process there. The percentage of distribution of the radiation emitted from the organ is detected by a gamma camera, processed by a computer and transformed into an image (a scan). This allows for an exact assessment of the blood flow and metabolic activity in the organ.

The goal of nuclear medicine therapy is to destroy pathological cells with the aid of radioactive substances, and so to ease the complaints and stop further damage. Radiosynovectomy (RSO) is part of the service spectrum we offer in our practice, a very effective method with a quick and lasting alleviation of the pain in inflamed joints and pain from rheumatic diseases. We use a samarium therapy to treat bone metastases in breast and prostate cancer cases.

When is a nuclear medicine imaging examination recommended?

In our practice, nuclear medicine imaging examinations are done to evaluate the overall and regional functional condition of the following organs:

• Thyroid – for example, to prove the existence of and/or evaluate autonomous (hot) nodules.
• Heart – for example, to determine where and to what degree the supply of nutrients to the cardiac muscle is restricted as a result of coronary heart disease.
• Brain – for example, to determine if there are disorders in the blood flow; to test for Parkinson's disease; or for the presence of a tumor.
• Bones  – for example, to evaluate inflammatory changes in the bones and joints; and to detect metastases that may have settled in cancer patients' bones.
• Lungs – for example, when a lung embolism is suspected.
• Kidneys – for example, to detect damages to the kidney tissue or disorders in the urinary tract.

Is radioactivity dangerous?

With the optimization of the camera technology and improvements in the radioactive substances used for the procedure, the amount of radiation exposure for the most frequently performed nuclear medicine examinations (e.g., the thyroid scan) is below the natural radiation we are exposed to annually. In general, the danger for humans with radioactivity depends upon the type and amount of radiation. For evaluating disorders in the circulatory capabilities of the coronary vessels, the radiation exposure is less than that of heart catheters and is comparable to the radiation exposure during a computed tomography.