A nuclear medicine scan uses radiation to help doctors evaluate physiology and function as well as anatomy and to detect disease, inflammation, or infection throughout the body. No other radiology test can more accurately measure the function of the gallbladder or kidneys, or detect certain types of cancer. A radioactive medicine is given either as an injection, a pill you swallow, or as a gas you inhale. The medicine travels through the body and goes to a specific organ. That organ then gives off gamma rays that are detected by the nuclear medicine camera. The camera output is sent to our computer system, which develops images of the organ. This shows the radiologist the size, shape and function of the organ.
As an integral part of patient care, nuclear medicine is used in the diagnosis, management, treatment and prevention of serious disease. Nuclear medicine imaging procedures often identify abnormalities very early in the progression of a disease - long before some medical problems are apparent with other diagnostic tests. This early detection allows a disease to be treated early in its course when there may be a more successful prognosis. Although nuclear medicine is commonly used for diagnostic purposes, it also provides valuable therapeutic applications such as treatment of hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer, blood imbalances, and pain relief from certain types of bone cancers.