Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear Medicine

MD Nuclear Imaging, a division of MD Imaging offers advanced imaging techniques with Nuclear Medicine. Located at 2650 Edith Avenue in Redding, MD Nuclear Imaging is pleased to offer outpatient Nuclear Medicine services including diagnostic imaging techniques consisting of PET scans, Bone, Renal, Thyroid, Cardiac and Gallium Scans.

Our outpatient imaging center provides revolutionary imaging procedures that focus on the body’s internal organs and how they are functioning. Nuclear Medicine is used in the diagnosis, management treatment and prevention of disease. Nuclear Medicine procedures often identify abnormalities early in the progression of disease, long before problems are apparent with other diagnostic tests. Early detection allows the disease to be treated when there may be a more favorable outcome.

What is Nuclear Medicine?

Nuclear Medicine is a specialized area of radiology that uses safe, painless and cost-effective techniques to image the body and treat disease. Nuclear Medicine is the subspecialty of radiology that images bodily function rather than anatomy. Nuclear Medicine differs from radiology whereas it documents function and structure. By using small amounts of radioactive substance or radiopharmaceutical in the bloodstream, a Nuclear Medicine Radiologist is able to take pictures or scans of certain organs inside your body. Nuclear Medicine imaging procedures often identify abnormalities very early in the progression of disease. This early detection allows disease to be treated quickly and more effectively.

Various techniques used in Nuclear Medicine include Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), Cardiovascular Imaging, and Bone Scanning.

How does Nuclear Medicine work?
Before your test, you will be given a small, non-harmful, amount of radioactive material called a tracer. This tracer will be injected or swallowed. The test is performed depending on the type of scan your physician has ordered. A large camera will be used to sense the radioactive substance in the body and is displayed on a screen or film. There should be little or no discomfort involved in this test.
What are Radioactive drugs?
Doctors and Chemists have identified a number of chemicals which are absorbed by specific organs. The thyroid, for example, takes up iodine, the brain consumes glucose, and so on. This allows doctors to use small doses of safe chemicals to image various organs inside your body. The amount of radiation from a Nuclear Medicine procedure is comparable to that received during a diagnostic X-ray.
Why is Nuclear Medicine used?
Nuclear Medicine is used for detecting tumors, aneurysms, irregularities in the blood flow and inadequate functioning of organs. Nuclear Medicine imaging procedures often identify abnormalities very early in the progression of disease. Early detection of these abnormalities allows a disease to be treated early and more effectively.

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