Get the Inside Story with Nuclear Medicine

When diagnosing illnesses and conditions affecting your organs, visualizing their function is a crucial part of the process. Exploratory surgery is invasive and can come with long recovery times, but nuclear medicine can give providers an inside look without so much as an incision. Used to analyze and identify a wide variety of conditions, nuclear medicine provides a novel method for diagnosis that other forms of medical imaging can’t.

What is Nuclear Medicine?

Nuclear medicine is a safe, painless imaging service used by physicians to diagnose and treat conditions or illnesses to functioning organs. Types of scans vary, but generally, nuclear medicine involves the use of pharmaceuticals attached to radioactive materials called radioisotopes; these radiopharmaceuticals are introduced to the body via injection, ingestion, or inhalation. The gamma rays produced by these medicines are detected by a special device called a gamma camera, which captures images that can be translated to a computer screen, allowing providers to assess organ function.

The radiation given during a nuclear medicine scan is comparable to an X-ray, but differs from other forms of imaging in that the radiation is emitted from the patient’s body, whereas in other imaging procedures, it’s passed through the body from the machine. By examining how radioactive material moves throughout the body, providers can detect illness or abnormality based on organ function. X-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, and MRIs, on the other hand, only determine a condition based on anatomy or structural appearance.

Nuclear medicine can be applied to a wide variety of diagnostic uses, including:

  • Evaluating kidney function
  • Visualizing heart blood flow and function and scanning for blockages
  • Assessing the lungs for respiratory and blood flow problems
  • Analyzing bones for fractures, infections, arthritis, and tumors
  • Identifying gallbladder inflammation
  • Identifying bleeding in the bowel
  • Locating areas of infection
  • Measuring the thyroid for overactivity or underactivity and evaluating for nodules
  • Localizing lymph nodes associated with breast tumors and melanomas
  • Determining the size and shape of the liver and spleen and evaluating for tumors
  • Calculating the strength of the heart muscle before surgery and chemotherapy

Scans Available Locally

The Imaging Department at Carlinville Area Hospital & Clinics offers an array of nuclear medicine scans used to diagnose a broad spectrum of diseases and conditions. Scans available in Carlinville include:

  • Lung scan — As the name implies, this test uses radiopharmaceuticals to measure pulmonary function. During the first part of this study, the patient inhales a small amount of radioactive gas with images obtained for about 30 minutes. During the second part, a small amount of radioactive material is injected into the patient’s arm with images obtained for another 30 minutes.

  • Exercise Myocardial Perfusion Study Also called a nuclear stress test, this exam measures blood flow to the heart when it’s stressed by exercise or medication. Radiopharmaceuticals are injected through an IV catheter and images are taken with the gamma camera for about 10 minutes. Afterward, the patient is fitted with 12 electrodes and is asked to exercise on a treadmill until the desired heart rate is reached. After exercising, a second set of photos is taken with the gamma camera. Patients are asked to abstain from food or drink after midnight before the exam. Caffeine should be avoided up to 24 hours in advance and beta blockers up to 48 hours in advance. Patients will also be asked to wear comfortable clothing and shoes. Another form of this test, the pharmacologic myocardial perfusion study, uses Lexiscan, which is infused through an IV catheter after the first round of photos. This variation of the nuclear stress test is typically used for patients with mobility problems who may have trouble exercising on a treadmill.

  • Hepatobiliary (HIDA) scan — Used to measure gallbladder function, a HIDA scan involves radiopharmaceuticals being injected into the patient’s arm, after which images are taken for about an hour. The patient will also receive a drug called cholecystokinin (CCK), which causes the gallbladder to contract. Afterward, additional images are taken for about 30 minutes. Patients are asked to avoid food and drinks four to six hours before the exam.

  • Gastric emptying study — This test measures how well stomach muscles are working. Patients are asked to eat a solid meal with radioactive medicine mixed in. Images are taken for about two hours, though imaging may take up to four hours. Patients are asked to avoid food and drinks after midnight before the study.

  • Bone imaging — Diagnosing and treating numerous bone disorders, bone scans typically consist of two visits to the Imaging Department. During the first visit, radiopharmaceuticals are injected into the patient’s body. The second visit takes place three hours later, when images are obtained for about an hour. Prior to the injection, patients will be asked to drink four to six glasses of liquid and void (i.e., urinate) frequently.

  • SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) — A special type of nuclear scan, this procedure enables providers to view 3D images, which are especially useful for cardiac, bone, and liver imaging.

After the Scan

So, once the exam is complete, what happens to the radioactive material left in the body? The small amount of radiopharmaceuticals left in the body will naturally decay in a short time; most leave the body through the urine within two to three days. Patients should drink plenty of fluids and urinate frequently after a scan to ensure radioactivity is expelled. In almost all cases, patients can return to their ordinary routines immediately after a scan, though patients should consult with their providers first.

See how nuclear medicine at Carlinville Area Hospital & Clinics can help improve your health. For more information, contact the Imaging Department at 217-854-3141, ext. 1224.