Nuclear Medicine
Nuclear medicine technicians at CCMA use radioactive substances to show images of the body’s function and anatomy to help physicians establish diagnosis and treatment. Nuclear medicine is helpful in detecting tumors, weak spots in blood vessel walls, irregular or inadequate blood flow to various tissues and blood cell disorders or inadequate functioning of organs, such as thyroid and pulmonary function deficiencies.
Nuclear medicine scans use a camera to take pictures of certain tissues in the body after a radioactive tracer (radionuclide or radioisotope) accumulates in the tissues. The radioactive tracer makes the tissues visible when scanning pictures.
Each type of tissue scanned, including bones, organs, glands, and blood vessels, uses a different radioactive compound as a tracer. The tracer remains in the body temporarily before it is eliminated as waste, usually in the urine or stool (feces).
Nuclear medicine scans include:
- Single Photon Emission Tomography (SPECT)
- Stress Tests and Cardiovascular Imaging
- Bone Scanning
- Thyroid Uptake and Scan
- Gallbladder Function Study