First Floor-Hospital Building / Local 2164 or 2165

Nuclear Medicine involves the use of unsealed radioactive materials for diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. Procedures are generally classified into: Imaging/In-Vivo; In-Vitro; and Therapy.

Imaging procedures are performed using a gamma camera. After injection of a suitable radiotracer, pictures of the organ being studied are acquired for variable periods of time. Nuclear Medicine imaging procedures are unique since they provide functional or physiologic data rather than structural or anatomic data obtained with the other imaging modalities.

In-Vitro procedures in Nuclear Medicine are referred to as radioimmunoassay. Using this technique, very small amounts of substances (usually hormones or drugs) in the blood are measured with a high degree of accuracy.

Radionuclide therapy for certain thyroid disorders offers a safe and effective alternative to medical or surgical treatment.

Available Imaging/In-Vivo Procedures:

• Brain SPECT
• Dacryocystography
• Thyroid Scan and Uptake
• Parathyroid (Tl201-Tc99m subtraction)
• SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Scan (Tl201 and Gated Tc99m Tetrofosmin)
• Infarct-Avid Imaging
• Gated Cardiac Blood Pool
• First Pass Radionuclide Angiography
• Lung Perfusion and Ventilation
• Gastroesophageal (Bleeding, Reflux, Emptying)
• Renal Scan and GFR (Furosemide, Captopril)
• Renal Cortical Imaging (Tc99m-DMSA) and Reflux Studies
• Testicular Perfusion
• Whole Body Bone Scan (Three-Phase, SPECT)

Available In-Vitro Procedures:

• Serum Free Triiodothyronine (FT3)
• Serum Free Thyroxine (FT4)
• Serum Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
• Serum Digoxin

Radionuclide Therapy Procedures:

• Radioactive Iodine Therapy for Hyperthyroidism and Thyroid Cancer
• Radioactive Strontium Therapy for Bone Pain Palliation

Preparation:

Radioimmunoassay procedures in general do not require any preparation. Serum for Digoxin assays however are preferably obtained six hours after the last intake of Digoxin.