Diagnosing a Wide Range of Conditions

Mackay nuclear medicine is used to diagnose a wide range of conditions. In both nuclear medicine and radiology, radiation is used. Radioactive materials (called radioisotopes) are introduced into the body

Patients inhale, swallow or are being injected with a radiopharmaceutical (a radioactive material). After taking the substance, the patient is made to lie down on a table while a camera takes pictures.

The camera’s focus will be in the areas where the radioactive material is concentrated. This will show the doctors the kind of problems there are and where they are.

Radiation imaging

Many medical procedures today use radiation. In Mackay nuclear medicine, these radio active materials are introduced into the body.  This offered procedure is deemed effective, safe and painless and do not require the use of anesthesia.

The types used are PET (position emission tomography) and SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography. These scan provides the information details on how the body organs are functioning.

These types of imaging are specifically useful in diagnosing thyroid disease, gall bladder disease, heart conditions, and cancer. It can also diagnose Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia and brain conditions.

Method

The imaging in Mackay nuclear medicine uses small amounts of radioactive materials (called radiotracers) and is typically injected into the bloodstream aside from other forms that may be inhaled or swallowed.

The radiotracers move around the areas being examined and give off energy (gamma rays) which are detected by a special camera. A computer then creates the images of the inside of the body parts being examined.

The information gathered therein provides information that often cannot b obtained using other imaging techniques. It also has the potential of identifying the diseases in their earliest stages.

Nuclear medicine treatment

Like in the imaging phase, radioactive agents are inhaled, injected or swallowed in pill form during the treatment period. Radioactive techniques are also used in the delivery of the treatment.

One example is Iodine-131 which is used in treating thyroid cancer and hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) for more than 50 years. Today, it is also used to threat non-Hodgkin lymphoma and bone pain in some other form of cancer.

This also targets the radionuclide therapy (TRT) which introduces radioactive iodine into the body, killing the thyroid cells or cancer cells. The substance is given as a capsule or in liquid form.

Diagnosing

 Diagnosing internal problems before often needed surgery, and nuclear medicine makes that unnecessary. PET and SPECT can show how well the treatment is doing. (These two scans also offer new insights into psychiatric conditions and, neurological disorders and addiction.)

The other types of imaging in nuclear medicine include targeted molecular ultrasound. This is useful in the detection of different kinds of cancer and highlighting blood flow. Magnetic resonance sonography also has a role in diagnosing cancer and some metabolic disorders.

Theranostics is another approach that integrates nuclear medicine techniques for diagnoses and imaging with those used for treatment. It can direct radioactive substances to the target and to diagnose and deliver treatment at the same time.