Nuclear Medicine (NM) is a safe and painless way to image the body and treat disease. NM can detect a variety of conditions, such as heart disease, arthritis, infection and cancer. NM provides information about both structure and function of your body. It can help the Radiologist determine if your organ tissue or bone function is normal. It is a way to gather medical information that would otherwise be unavailable, require surgery, or necessitate more expensive diagnostic tests.

Nuclear Medicine Bone Scans are often used to identify occult fractures. NM is used to identify, as well as plan, evaluate and adjust cancer therapy. Cancers that are monitored by NM include breast, ovarian, lung, head, neck, and lymphoma.

Nuclear Medicine has evolved since its first clinical use. Diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine procedures were developed for use in neurology, oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, orthopedics, gastroenterology, urology and pediatrics. NM is used for therapeutic treatment of hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid gland) and thyroid cancer. NM can also help provide pain relief for certain types of bone cancer.

What to Expect

Depending on what type of nuclear medicine study that you are having, imaging can take anywhere from a half-hour to several days. You will receive a small amount of a radioactive material (radiopharmaceuticals). Depending on your particular exam, the material may be swallowed, inhaled or injected. The radiotracer will either be administered by a nuclear medicine technologist or a Radiologist.

Extremely small amounts of tracers are used and the radiotracer usually passes out of the body within hours to days.

A special type of camera that works with a computer to provide precise pictures will detect gamma rays given off by the radiotracer as it accumulates in the organs, bones or tissues being imaged. The camera records this information on the computer screen or on film for review by the Radiologist.

For some Nuclear Medicine studies, imaging is performed immediately after you receive the dose of radiotracer. For other studies, you will be able to leave the facility and come back a few hours later. You may be asked to return for additional imaging over the course of the next few days.

PET Scanning

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scanning is one of the most exciting imaging procedures being performed today and is revolutionizing diagnosis and treatment of cancer. It is predominantly used in determining the presence and severity of cancers, neurological conditions, and cardiovascular disease. It is currently the most effective way to check for cancer recurrences. PET images demonstrate the chemistry of organs and other tissues such as tumors.

PET is based on measuring the metabolism of cells by attaching a “tracer” called F18 to a glucose (sugar) molecule. Cancer cells have a higher metabolic activity than normal cells and will accumulate higher levels of the F18-Glucose compound. The tumor cells will be seen as areas of “increased intensity” relative to the normal tissue in the body. As such, PET scanning is useful to prove if a tissue mass is likely a tumor as well as finding additional areas in the body which might represent tumor spread.

The F18 is given by injection into a vein followed by a waiting period of approximately 45 minutes to allow circulation. The images are obtained by a machine which appears similar to a CT Scanner. It takes about 45 minutes to scan the body from neck to pelvis in three different projections or angles.

The only preparation is to fast for four hours prior to the exam. Diabetics are monitored more closely as abnormally high sugar levels can affect the exam.

PET/CT Fusion

Though PET and CT are both mature modalities, PET/CT fusion yields new information about cancer that can provide earlier detection, help manage treatment, and reduce unnecessary biopsies and some surgeries. Fused PET and CT is created using software systems that combine separately obtained PET and CT images. Software fusion has a flexibility advantage that allows combining different types of DICOM images.

PET Image showing sites of spread of Ovarian cancer	PET Image shows site of spread from Lung cancer