Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear medicine examinations are safe, painless and commonly performed. These tests (also referred to as scans, examinations or procedures) can be important in the diagnosis and treatment of many medical problems.

The Nuclear Medicine team

When your doctor orders a nuclear medicine procedure, he or she entrusts you to the care of specially trained professionals. The nuclear medicine team includes the following:

• A nuclear medicine physician who is specially trained in physics and chemistry and is licensed to use radioactive materials.
• A nuclear medicine technologist who is educated in the theory of nuclear medicine procedures and experienced in their practice.
• A physicist who is well versed in the technology of nuclear medicine and the care of the equipment.
• A pharmacist, or specially trained technologist, who is qualified to prepare the necessary radioactive materials.

These professionals work together closely to give you the best care and your doctor the most accurate information possible.

Nuclear Medicine procedures . . . How safe are they?

Nuclear medicine procedures are very safe. The patient receives an extremely small or "trace" amount of radioactive material to minimize exposure to radiation. The doctor only uses as much radioactive material as is necessary to provide diagnostic information. The benefit of early and accurate diagnosis far outweighs the risk of receiving this small quantity of radioactive material.

When compared to other medical tests that use radiation, nuclear medicine scans compare favorably. In fact, most scans involve the same amount of radiation or less than the amount used in similar X-ray procedures.

Most compounds are quickly eliminated (naturally excreted) from the body, usually within hours or at most a few days. Drinking plenty of fluids will help to eliminate the material even more quickly. Adverse reactions (side effects) to nuclear medicine procedures are very rare. If you have any concerns about the safety of these procedures, talk to your physician or one of the members of the nuclear medicine team.

Common Nuclear Medicine tests

There are many types of nuclear medicine tests available and only a few are listed here. The following are some of the more commonly performed procedures:

• Bone scans
• Cardiac blood pool imaging (MUGA)
• Gallbladder scans
• Heart scans
• Liver scans
• Lung scans
• Myocardial perfusion imaging with gated SPECT
• Positron emission tomography (PET) scans with Computed Tomography (CT) attenuation
• Thyroid uptake and scan

For more information regarding the Department of Nuclear Medicine

Please call (217) 544-6464, extension 44790 or 44772.