Nuclear Medicine

Question 1

What is nuclear medicine?

Answer 1

A branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose and determine the severity of or treat a variety of diseases

Question 2

What can nuclear medicine pinpoint?

Answer 2

Molecular activity in the body

Question 3

What does pinpointing molecular activity offer?

Answer 3

The potential to identify disease in its earliest stages as well as a patient’s immediate response to therapeutic interventions

Question 4

What is a radiopharmaceutical?

Answer 4

Radioactive material used in nuclear medicine procedures

Question 5

How can a radiotracer be placed in the body?

Answer 5

-Injected into the body
-Swallowed
-Inhaled as a gas

It eventually accumulates into the organ or area of the body being examined

Question 6

What is a gamma camera?

Answer 6

A specialized instrument used to detect the distribution of radiopharmaceuticals

Question 7

What are common procedures?

Answer 7

-Cancer (Gallium Scan- detects lymphoma and certain cancers)

-Renal (renogram and renal scan - evaluates structure and function of the kidneys; can demonstrate how efficiently the kidneys are working and whether or not a transplanted kidney is being rejected)

-Heart

-Lungs (Lung perfusion and ventilation)

-Bones (bone scans- Technetium 99-m injected intravenously)

-Brain