Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty that involves the use of radioactive isotopes in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear medicine specialists use safe, painless, and cost-effective techniques to image the body and treat disease. Nuclear medicine imaging is unique because it provides doctors with information about both structure and function. It is a way to gather medical information that would otherwise be unavailable, would require surgery, or would necessitate more expensive diagnostic tests. Nuclear medicine imaging procedures often identify abnormalities very early in the progress of a disease, long before many medical problems are apparent with other diagnostic tests.
Nuclear medicine uses very small amounts of radioactive materials (radiopharmaceuticals) to diagnose and treat disease. In imaging, the radiopharmaceuticals are detected by special types of cameras that work with computers to provide very precise pictures about the area of the body being imaged. In treatment, the radiopharmaceuticals go directly to the organ. The amount of radiation in a typical nuclear imaging procedure is comparable with the amount received during a diagnostic X-ray, and the amount received in a typical treatment procedure is kept within safe limits.
For more information, please visit our Locations and Hours page for contact information or download the Nuclear Medicine brochure below.
