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Nuclear medicine uses safe,
painless, and cost-effective techniques to image various parts of the
body. Nuclear medicine differs from traditional radiology imaging in
that it images and analyzes function (physiology) which will determine
if the area of concern is working properly.
Usually, no special preparation is needed for a nuclear medicine
examination. The exceptions are thyroid scans, which require a patient
to be off certain medications prior to the scan. With
procedures involving the stomach or gallbladder, you will be asked to
not eat four to six hours prior to the exam.
With nuclear medicine, the radiation does not come from the machine, it
comes from an agent called a radio pharmaceutical. This is a very small,
safe amount of radiation that is either given in the form of a capsule
or injection. Most nuclear medicine injections are administered into a
vein, a procedure similar to having blood drawn.
Depending on the type of scan, it may take from minutes to several days
for the substance to collect properly in the area of interest prescribed
by your physician. Your technologist will help coordinate times for you to
come in for additional scanning. The delay in imaging after injection is
also helpful to see how an organ functions over time.
Common nuclear medicine procedures include bone scans, thyroid scans and
hepatobiliary scans.
Bone scans can be performed in several different ways; a whole body bone
scan images the majority of the skeletal system; three-phase bone scans
are limited to one section and images are taken at the time of injection,
and several hours later; limited bone scans are similar to the three-phase but they do not include the images immediately after injection.
Thyroid scans are imaged in two ways depending on the purpose of the
scan:
(1) Technetium Thyroid scan images the
anatomy of the thyroid
(2) an I-123 thyroid scan is recommended
to check for function plus anatomy and pathology. The I-123 exam
provides the physician with the most information of the two exams. This
is the preferred scanning method by our radiologists.
Hepatobiliary scans, often called HIDA scans, image and analyze the
gallbladder and hepatic duct physiology. A gallbladder could be working
poorly even without a gallstone. By measuring the amount of
radioactivity left within the gallbladder after a certain period of
time, the radiologist can provide information to your physician that
will allow for a more effective diagnosis.
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