- Nuclear medicine is a safe and noninvasive (besides usual IV injection) imaging technology, which uses very small amounts of specially formulated radioactive materials (commonly called “tracers”), typically injected into the bloodstream or other routes by inhaling or swallowing to be intaken into the body for a time interval enough to acquire images for diagnosis. The radiotracer travels through the areas being examined and gives off energy in gamma-rays detected by a special camera, followed by computerization to create images of the related part.
- See the scheme below:
Figure 1: The radioactive tracer is first injected into the body, and the cameras detect the released energy (gamma-rays or others), create pictures offering details on both the structure and function of the organs and tissues in the body. The small amount of radiotracer in the body will lose its radioactivity over time through the natural process of radioactive decay. (Rf. AEC.gov.tw; Atomic Energy Council, Executive Yuan, Taiwan) - Commonly used nuclear medicine applications include:
- Heart scans
- Bone scans
- Renal scans
- Thyroid scans
- Brain scans
- Nuclear medicine is particularly valuable in providing physicians with information on both the structure and function of a patient's cells, tissue, or organs. The use of nuclear medicine procedures has kept this imaging technology in high demand. Our hospital has specially set up the Nuclear Medicine Department to help assess and diagnose disease conditions.
