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Nuclear Medicine / PET
Nuclear Medicine / PET
Nuclear Medicine
The Nuclear Medicine (NM) section is comprised of three full-time clinical faculty members and two NM resident/fellows who perform all of the diagnostic and therapeutic Nuclear Medicine procedures. Other important sectional faculty members are an NM Physicist and a Radiopharmacist. We have six Siemens E-Cam SPECT gamma cameras (four of these are dual-head systems) and one Siemens Symbia SPECT/CT system. The PET/CT section contains a Siemen’s Biograph Classic scanner and a Biograph True Point 40 (CT slice) scanner. Two of the dual-head SPECT units are dedicated to myocardial perfusion imaging and one of the single-head cameras is used primarily for cardiac blood pool imaging studies. PET/CT now offers myocardial perfusion imaging using 82Rubidium. Our Cardiac NM and PET/CT studies are jointly interpreted with a Cardiology fellow from the Division of Cardiology and our trainees. One of the Cardiology faculty members also interprets studies two days per week. We do a broad spectrum of therapeutic NM procedures, including radioiodine therapies for hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer, Zevalin therapy for low grade lymphoma, bone pain palliation therapy, intra-articular therapy for hemophilia and intra-arterial Therasphere therapy for hepatocellular cancer (in cooperation with Vascular / Interventional Radiology). Our PET/CT service is heavily oriented toward oncology work, although we also do a reasonable volume of myocardial and neurologic PET examinations. Our NM staff regularly attends multidisciplinary oncology conferences to present PET results and to advise oncology staff on new cases that should undergo a PET/CT study.
- For more information on Nuclear Medicine, please visit the following websites.
Links | Description |
A U.S. Department of Energy institute focusing on scientific initiatives to research health risks from occupational hazards, assess environmental cleanup, respond to radiation medical emergencies, support national security and emergency preparedness, and educate the next generation of scientists. | |
Internal and external dose assessment are related concepts. Both involve the assessment of absorbed doses to organs and tissues of the body to evalute possible biological effects. Note that we are using the term 'dose assessment' here, and not 'dosimetry'. | |
In nuclear medicine, patients are administered varying quantities of different nuclear medicine tracers to either diagnose or treat disease. For diagnostic cases, the doses are usually low - critical organs may receive of the order of 50-100 mGy (5 to 10 rad), and the effective whole body dose equivalent is considerably lower. In therapy, naturally, the doses are much higher, and cannot be well characterized in the general sense. For diagnostic agents, it is probably reasonable to apply standardized biokinetic models to the standardized phantoms and calculate dose estimates. | |
The SNM is an international scientific and professional organization founded in 1954 to promote the science, technology and practical application of nuclear medicine. Its 16,000 members are physicians, technologists and scientists specializing in the research and practice of nuclear medicine. In addition to publishing journals, newsletters and books, the Society also sponsors international meetings and workshops designed to increase the competencies of nuclear medicine practitioners and to promote new advances in the science of nuclear medicine. | |
AHRA is the preeminent organization for leaders in medical imaging sciences. As the association for medical imaging management, AHRA offers a complete slate of professional development programs—including a comprehensive selection of education conferences and seminars, the AHRA Leadership Institute, networking opportunities, award-winning publications and the Certified Radiology Administrator credential. Founded in 1973, AHRA’s membership reaches across the country and around the world. Its more than 4,000 members represent management at all levels for freestanding imaging centers, hospital imaging departments and group practices. |