Nuclear Medicine
By: WUTR Eyewitness News
Updated: March 16, 2012
Nuclear
medicine may sound like a wave of the future, but it is actually used
in hospitals today. For a rare behind the scenes look
at what it is, Caroline Gable went to Little Falls Hospital to find out
exactly how it's used.
Every
precaution is taken when it comes to using radioactive materials. But
what exactly is nuclear medicine? Chief Nuclear Technician
Erik Strail explains it this way, "Nuclear medicine is the study of the
major organs of the body but we use radioactive isotopes to visualize
them."
It's
a process not harmful to the body, resulting in images with bright
colors. A scan takes no more radiation than a chest x-ray,
but it goes into the blood stream and throughout the whole body. "We
start an I.V. just like we do with our modalities, and after the I.V. is
put in we do an injection of the radioactive isotope we are using
(depending on the different exams we are doing,)
we let it circulate into the body and then the person goes on the
table," says Strail.
Some
pictures are delayed pictures and some are done right away depending on
the test. Most tests range between one and two hours.
There is no side effect or reaction, because an isotope is used and not a
die. But patients will of course feel the I.V.
"We
have a cardiologist here. I'm here. We have an EKG here, and we also
have something to reverse the effect if they do have a
problem," assures Strail. A popular use of nuclear medicine is for
stress tests, but kidney and gallbladder function can also be better
defined after this test. The use of nuclear medicine can also reveal
other specific things happening in a patient's body
or bones.
