Nuclear Medicine:
What is General Nuclear Medicine?
Nuclear Medicine is a subspecialty within radiology. It comprises diagnostic examinations that result in images of body anatomy and function. The images are developed based on the detection of energy emitted from a radioactive substance given to the patient. Radiation to the patient is, generally similar to that resulting from standard x-ray examinations.
What are some common uses of the procedure?
Nuclear Medicine images can assist the physician in diagnosing diseases. Tumors, infections and other disorders can be detected by evaluation of organ function. Specifically, nuclear medicine can be used to:
- Analyze kidney function
- Image blood flow and function of the heart
- Scan lungs for respiratory and blood-flow problems
- Identify blockage of the gallbladder (cystic duct)
- Evaluate bones, for fracture, infection, arthritis or tumor
- Determine the presence of infection
- Locate the presence of infection
- Measure thyroid uptake to detect hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism
How should I prepare for the procedure?
Each Nuclear Medicine exam is different and requires different preparations for each patient. Check with the ordering physician for special instructions.
What will I experience during the procedure?
Some discomfort during a nuclear medicine procedure may arise from the intravenous injection, usually done with a small needle. Lying still on the examining table may be unpleasant for some patients. The radiopharmaceutical loses its radioactivity generally over 24 hours. It passes out of the body in the urine or stool.
Who interprets the results and how do I get them?
Most patients undergo a nuclear medicine exam because a referring physician has recommended it. A physician who has specialized training in nuclear medicine will interpret the images and forward a report to your referring physician. It usually takes three days to interpret, report and deliver the results.
Always inform your physician or technologist if there is any possibility that you are pregnant.
Ultrasound:
What is General Ultrasound Imaging?
Ultrasound (US) imaging, also called ultrasound scanning or sonography, is a method of "seeing" inside the human body through the use of high-frequency sound waves. The sound waves are recorded and displayed as real-time visual image. No ionizing radiation is involved in ultrasound imaging.
Ultrasound is a useful way of examining many of the body's internal organs, including the heart, liver, gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, and bladder. Because ultrasound images are captured in real-time, they can show movement of internal tissues and organs, and enable physicians to see blood flow and heart valve functions.
What are some common uses of the procedure?
Millions of expectant parents have seen the first "picture" of their unborn child with pelvic ultrasound examinations of the uterus and fetus. Ultrasound imaging is used extensively for evaluating the eyes, pelvic and abdominal organs, heart, and blood vessels, and can help a physician determine the source of pain, swelling, or infection in many parts of the body. Because Ultrasound provides real time images, it can also be used to guide procedures such as needle biopsies, in which a needle is used to sample cells from an organ for laboratory testing. Ultrasound is now being used to image the breasts and to guide biopsy of breast cancer.
Doppler ultrasound is a special technique used to examine blood flow.
Doppler images can help the physician to see and evaluate:
- blockages to blood flow, such as clots
- build-up of plaque inside the vessel
- congenital malformation
How should I prepare for the procedure?
You should wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing for your ultrasound exam. Other preparation depends on the type of examination you will have. For some scans, your doctor may instruct you not to eat or drink for as many as 12 hours before your appointment. For others, you may be asked to drink up to six glasses of water two hours prior to your exam and avoid urinating, so that your bladder is full when the scan begins.
Who interprets the results and how do I get them?
A radiologist, who is a physician experienced in ultrasound and other radiology examinations, will analyze the images and send a signed report with his interpretation to the patient's personal physician. The personal physician's office will inform the patient on how to obtain their results.
What are the benefits vs. risks?
Benefits
*Ultrasound imaging is a painless, low cost examination.
*Ultrasound is widely available and easy to use.
*Ultrasound imaging uses non ionizing radiation, and is the preferred image modality for diagnosis and monitoring of pregnant women and their unborn infants.
*Ultrasound provides real-time imaging, making it a good tool for guiding minimally invasive procedures such as needle biopsies.
*Ultrasound images can visualize movement and live function in the body's organs and blood vessels.
*Ultrasound scanning is painless and noninvasive.
Risks
*For standard diagnostic ultrasound there are no known harmful effects to humans.
SCRMC Ultrasonographersare ARDMS Registered Technologists with Advanced Ultrasound certificates
