Advanced Diagnostics and Therapies with Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear bone scans are often used to determine if cancers have spread to the bones. This study is most often performed in patients with breast or prostate cancer, but may be helpful with other cancers as well. Bone scans can also be used to evaluate degenerative/arthritic changes in the joints; to look for bone infections; and to detect other bone diseases or tumors that may be causing bone pain or inflammation.

Nuclear brain scans may be used to investigate problems within the brain and/or in the blood circulation to the brain. Used in conjunction with PET/CT and/or SPECT/CT imaging, a nuclear medicine exam may be helpful in detecting neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease and in identifying the area(s) of the brain where epileptic seizures originate.

The gallbladder is a small organ which stores and secretes the digestive juices (bile) made by the liver. A nuclear scan may be done to detect or confirm gallbladder diseases such as cholecystitis, which is inflammation and swelling of the gallbladder that can occur when bile is trapped due to an obstruction or other abnormality.

One of the most commonly performed nuclear medicine procedures, a nuclear heart scan can be done using either conventional gamma cameras or with PET and CT. It may be used to study blood flow to the heart, to measure heart function and to assess for cardiac sarcoidosis (areas of inflammation that can disrupt heart rhythm and blood flow). A nuclear heart study may also be used determine the extent of heart muscle damage after a heart attack. In particular, it can help distinguish between scar tissue in the heart muscle, which can’t be salvaged, and muscle that is still viable with the potential to be treated and restored to function.

Nuclear medicine scans can be used to detect abnormalities in any organ in the human body. Additional scans include:

• Renal (kidney) scans to evaluate kidney function and look for any obstructions to blood flow
• Thyroid scans to evaluate function and provide more information about a thyroid nodule or tumor
• Parathyroid scans to help to evaluate for tumors of the parathyroid glands

Nuclear medicine imaging exams may also be used to:

• Evaluate gastric emptying - how well the stomach muscles function in moving food and liquids from the stomach into the first part of the small intestine.
• Identify the source of internal bleeding
• Determine if there is related, underlying disease when a pulmonary embolism is found.