Nuclear medicine is a medical imaging area that uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose and measure the severity or treatment of various diseases, including many types of cancer, heart disease, gastrointestinal tract, endocrine, neurological and other disorders in the body.

Since the procedures of nuclear medicine are able to determine the molecular activity in the body, they provide an opportunity to identify the disease at the earliest stages, as well as see the immediate reaction of the patient to therapeutic interventions.

Non-invasive imaging procedures in nuclear medicine are painless medical tests that help doctors diagnose and evaluate their health.

In conventional X-ray examinations, an image is created by passing x-rays through the patient’s body. Nuclear medicine procedures use radioactive material called a radiopharmaceutical or a radioactive isotope that is injected into the bloodstream, swallowed, or inhaled by patients. This radioactive material accumulates in the test organ or area of the human body, where it releases a small amount of energy in the form of gamma rays. Special cameras detect this energy and with the help of a computer they create photographs with detailed information about both the structure and the functions of the organs and tissues of the body.

Since the doses of injected radioactive material are small and the exposure is relatively low, the procedure is considered acceptable for diagnostic studies. Thus, the radiation risk is very low compared to the potential benefits.

Visualization in nuclear medicine is carried out both on an outpatient basis and in the conditions of hospitalization.

Doctors use procedures in nuclear medicine to visualize the structure and functions of an organ, tissue, bone or system in the body.

In adults, nuclear medicine is used in cases of:

–Assessment of metastatic bone disease
–Bone scores for fractures, infection and arthritis
–Definitions of inflammation or abnormal gallbladder function
–Detection of bleeding in the intestines
–Detection of coronary heart disease and the degree of coronary stenosis
–Detection of early onset neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease
–Detection of lung transplant rejection
–Determining a site for biopsy
–Estimates of heart damage after heart attack
–Evaluation of cardiac performance before and after chemotherapy
–Evaluation of chemical abnormalities in the brain
–Evaluation of lymphedema
–Heart transplant rejection detection
–Help diagnose hyperthyroidism and blood cell disease
–Searching cancer and metastasis
–Scan your lungs for problems with breathing and blood flow
–Studies of brain disorders
–Visualization of cardiac blood flow and function (for example, scanning myocardial perfusion)

And many other more.

DIAGNOSTICS

–2D: Scintigraphy
–3D: Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)
–PET