When you first hear the term “nuclear medicine” it might sound a bit daunting. How can “nuclear,” something that some people associate with danger, be effectively combined with “medicine”? The answer is that doctors and scientists have worked together to take radioactive substances and tone them down until they are safe tools that the medical community can use to diagnose disease.
While it might not be the most publicized field of medicine, nuclear medicine is by no means new. The Society of Nuclear Medicine traces the use of radioactive materials all the way back to 1946, when they were used to treat thyroid cancer. Once this success was established, the ball really got rolling and today, doctors and technicians can safely use radioactive substances to diagnose diseases throughout the body.
How Nuclear Medicine Works
The process begins by taking radionuclides (wavering chemical agents that emit radiation) and processing them into safe radiopharmaceuticals. Once the chemical agents have been stabilized they are safe for human consumption.
- The doctor will give you a dose of radiopharmaceuticals; you may swallow, inhale or be injected with the substance, depending upon the test you need.
- You may then be instructed to wait for a period so that the radiopharmaceuticals have time to travel through your body.
- You will be hooked up to a special camera—a gamma or PET camera, depending upon the test—which is connected to computers that create and store the results of the test.
- The doctor will then use the camera outside of your body to gather images inside your body. The radiopharmaceuticals emit very low doses of radiation which show up on the images that the cameras produce. Doctors use the images to make a diagnosis based on the way that the radiopharmaceuticals travel through your body and the specific bone and tissue that they are attracted to.
The radiopharmaceuticals themselves are all a little different by design. If a particular type of radiopharmaceutical is attracted to a particular area of the body or type of tissue, then your doctors will have evidence that a particular condition does or does not exist within your body. Many diagnostic imaging tools—X-Rays, ultrasounds, etc.—are limited to providing images of your actual body/anatomy. While this is very useful, nuclear medicine has an edge in some cases because it shows what is actually going on in your body biologically. The ways that the radiopharmaceuticals travel and the body parts that they are attracted to can help doctors diagnose medical conditions and diseases before anatomical symptoms—like a growth—have even shown themselves.
Nuclear Medicine and Your Safety
Is nuclear medicine dangerous? In a word, “No.” Nuclear medicine has been studied and refined. Yes, the radiopharmaceuticals are radioactive, but the radiation levels are specifically reduced to make them safe. Most doses do not contain any more radiation than a standard x-ray. In reality there are many everyday items—like the smoke detectors in your home—that emit low levels of radiation. Additionally your doctors will evaluate your condition as much as is possible before nuclear medicine comes into play. This way they know exactly what they are looking for and consequently the nuclear medicine technician can limit the amount of radiopharmaceuticals administered during the screening. Remember, you are being attended to by professional medical staff who has your health in mind every step of the way.
If you would like to learn more about nuclear medicine or need a referral to a local doctor in Tamarac, please visit University Hospital and Medical Center online or call Consult-A-Nurse® at 1-866-442-2362.
Sources:
Society of Nuclear Medicine-PDF
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