What is Nuclear Medicine?
Nuclear Medicine is an examination performed by a special scanner and computer. It provides highly detailed images of the body’s anatomy and its functioning.

Nuclear medicine is a subspecialty within the field of radiology. It requires a radioactive substance be given to patients intravenously (through a vein) or by mouth. This radioactive substance reacts with your body by giving off levels of energy where disease, dysfunction, or infection is present. This energy aids in creating dynamic diagnostic pictures or images your Radiologist uses to identify, interpret and evaluate abnormalities within organ structures and systems of the body. (The amount of radiation created by the radioactive substance is similar to a standard x-ray examination.) After your Radiologist has interpreted the images, a report of the findings and diagnosis is sent to your physician so he or she may create a treatment plan for your care.

How is Nuclear Medicine used?
A nuclear medicine scan is a painless, non-invasive method used to assist your Radiologist in diagnosing diseases, tumors, infections, and other functional disorders of the body’s anatomy and organ system. Specifically, nuclear medicine can be used to

• Analyze kidney function
• Image blood flow and function of the heart
• Scan lungs for respiratory and blood-flow problems
• Evaluate gallbladder function
• Evaluate bones for fracture, infection, arthritis or tumor
• Determine the presence or spread of cancer
• Identify bleeding into the bowel
• Locate the presence of infection
• Measure thyroid function to detect an overactive or underactive thyroid