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Types Of Nuclear Medicine Exams
NUCLEAR CARDIOLOGY
Myocardial Perfusion Imaging
A Myocardial perfusion scan is a nuclear medicine procedure used to assess the blood flow to the heart muscle both at stress and at rest. The two images are compared to each other to allow an assessment of damage to the heart muscle or a lack of enough blood flow to the heart muscle during exercise. The test is usually ordered by a physician to assess chest pain or other symptoms that may be related to the heart.
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NUCLEAR CARDIOLOGY
Equilibrium Radionuclide Angiography
Equilibrium Radionuclide Angiography (ERNA) is a type of nuclear medicine test used to evaluate the function of the heart ventricles. It is also called a MUGA scan (Multi Gated Acquisition). It provides a movie-like image of the beating heart, and allows the doctor to determine the health of the heart’s major pumping chambers. The advantages of an ERNA or MUGA scan is that it is more accurate than an echocardiogram and it is non-invasive. The scan involves the introduction of a radioactive marker into the bloodstream of the patient. The patient is subsequently scanned to determine the circulation dynamics of the marker, and hence the blood.
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GENERAL NUCLEAR MEDICINE
Gastrointestinal System; Central Nervous System; Endocrine
System; Skeletal System; Genitourinary System; Pulmonary
System; Infectious Disease Processes; Tumors; Nuclear
Medicine Therapy
Radiopharmaceuticals are introduced into the patient's
body by injection, swallowing, or inhalation. The amount
given is very small. The pharmaceutical part of the radiopharmaceutical
is designed to go to a specific place in the body where
there could be disease or an abnormality. The radioactive
part of the radiopharmaceutical that emits radiation,
known as gamma rays (similar to x-rays), is then detected
using a special camera called a gamma camera. This type
of camera allows the nuclear medicine physician to see
what is happening inside the patient's body. During this
imaging procedure, the patient is asked to lie down on
a bed and then the gamma camera is placed a few inches
over the patient's body. Pictures are taken over the next
few minutes.
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POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY (PET)
PET images demonstrate the chemistry of organs and other
tissues such as tumors. A radiopharmaceutical, such as
FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose), which includes both sugar (glucose)
and a radionuclide (a radioactive element) that gives
off signals, is injected into the patient and its emissions
are measured by a PET scanner.
A PET scanner consists of an array of
detectors that surround the patient. Using the gamma ray
signals given off by the injected radionuclide, PET measures
the amount of metabolic activity at a site in the body
and a computer reassembles the signals into images. Cancer
cells have higher metabolic rates than normal cells, and
show up as denser areas on a PET scan. In addition, PET
is useful in diagnosing certain cardiovascular and neurological
diseases because it highlights areas with increased, diminished,
or no metabolic activity, thereby pinpointing problems.
PET is a medical imaging modality that inspects all organ
systems of the body, enabling it to search for cancer
in a single examination. PET's ability to measure metabolism
also has significant implications in diagnosing Alzheimer's
disease, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and other neurological
conditions, because it can vividly illustrate areas where
brain activity differs from the norm.
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The ICANL is a nonprofit organization established
to provide a mechanism for the accreditation of facilities that
perform nuclear medicine testing. The mission of the ICANL is
to promote high quality nuclear medicine diagnostic evaluations
in the delivery of health care by providing a peer review process
of laboratory accreditation.
Excerpts of this information
are taken, with permission, from the following sources (each
sponsoring organizations of the ICANL):
- Reprinted by permission of
the Society of Nuclear Medicine from "What Is Nuclear
Medicine?" Patient Pamphlet. Nuclear medicine facilities
interested in ordering copies of patient education brochures
from the Society of Nuclear Medicine can obtain more information
from the SNM
website.
- The Academy of Molecular
Imaging's copyrighted, printed patient information brochure
entitled "Power of Molecular Imaging." PET facilities
interested in obtaining copies of patient information brochures
from the Academy of Molecular Imaging can obtain more information
from the AMI
website.
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