Keywords : breast imaging
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What is nuclear medicine? Nuclear medicine is a medical speciality that involves giving a patient a small amount of radioactive medication, called a radiopharmaceutical. This makes the body slightly radioactive for a short time. A special nuclear medicine camera detects the radiation, which is emitted (released) from the body, and takes images or pictures of how the…
What is a bone scan? A nuclear medicine bone scan shows the effects of injury or disease (such as cancer) or infection on the bones. A nuclear medicine bone scan also shows whether there has been any improvement or deterioration in a bone abnormality after treatment. A radioactive material (radiopharmaceutical) is injected into a vein, attaches to the bones and is detected…
What is a nuclear medicine (NM) cardiac stress test? A nuclear medicine (NM) cardiac stress test assesses the blood supply to the heart and provides information about how the heart is working. Images (or pictures) are taken of the heart while at rest and after the heart is stressed. The stress is in the form of exercise on a treadmill or exercise bike, or if this is not possible,…
What is a DMSA scan? DMSA, or dimercaptosuccinic acid, is a radioactive compound (radiopharmaceutical) that when injected into a vein allows images or pictures to be taken of the kidneys. DMSA enters the kidneys and is concentrated in functioning/normal kidney tissue, giving an indication as to how the kidneys are working. It does not provide information as to the internal…
What is a nuclear medicine gated blood pool scan? A nuclear medicine (NM) gated blood pool scan is an imaging test which involves labelling the red blood cells in your blood with a radiopharmaceutical and then measuring the amount of blood in the heart during different parts of the heart beat. The images are acquired on a gamma camera. The filling and emptying of the heart…
A nuclear medicine renal scan is used to assess blood flow, function and drainage of the kidneys. The radiopharmaceutical is then injected into a vein and enters the kidneys. The radioactive component of the radiopharmaceutical emits gamma rays, which allows us to take pictures of your kidney using gamma cameras. The scan involves a small amount of radiation exposure,…
A nuclear medicine thyroid scan uses a radioactive medication (radiopharmaceutical) to take pictures or images of the thyroid gland. The radiopharmaceutical is injected into a vein, usually in the arm, and enters the thyroid gland from the circulating blood. It is detected by a special gamma camera that takes images and provides information about the function and structure…
What is an octreotide scan? Nuclear medicine uses radioactive materials to diagnose or treat diseases. An octreotide scan is one that uses radioactive material to detect certain types of cancers arising from the neuro-endocrine systems (this means cancers that relate to the interaction between the nervous system and hormones from the endocrine system – glands that…
What is a parathyroid MIBI scan? A parathyroid MIBI scan is used in nuclear medicine to look at possible problems involving the parathyroid gland(s). The parathyroids are four small hormone glands lying close to or embedded in the back surface of the thyroid gland, in the front of the neck. The parathyroid scan uses sestamibi (or MIBI for short), which...
What is a PET scan? PET stands for “positron emission tomography”. It is a nuclear medicine imaging test in which a small amount of liquid radioactive material is injected into your body and is used to diagnose a variety of diseases, including many types of cancers, heart disease and other diseases. The radioactive substance most commonly used in PET scanning is a simple…
What is radiation? Background radiation is always present in our environment. It is inescapable and provides each of us with a continuous, small radiation dose. The sources of background radiation in our environment are cosmic rays from the universe, naturally occurring radioactive substances in the food and water we eat and drink, the air we breathe, in the ground,…
What is radiation - am I exposed to background radiation each day even if I do not have an X-ray examination? Background radiation - Background radiation refers to the ionising radiation from high energy particles or rays that we are unavoidably exposed to in our daily lives, which gives each of us a small but continuous dose of ionising radiation;...
What is a screening mammography? Screening mammography is a low-dose X-ray examination of a woman’s breasts used to detect breast cancer when that cancer is too small to be felt as a lump. Screening mammography is carried out on women who do not have any symptoms of breast disease. The aim of screening mammography is to reduce the death rate from breast cancer by detecting…
What is SIRT? Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) is a treatment for liver cancers or tumours that delivers millions of tiny radioactive microspheres or beads called SIR-Spheres® directly to the liver tumours. SIR-Spheres® are about one third the diameter of a strand of hair in size and they release a type of radiation energy called ‘Beta’ radiation. Beta radiation is...
What is a SPECT-CT scan? A SPECT-CT scan is a type of nuclear medicine scan where the images or pictures from two different types of scans are combined together. The combined scan can provide precise information about how different parts of the body are working and more clearly identify problems.…
What is an ultrasound? Ultrasound is the term used for high-frequency soundwaves. Ultrasound examinations use these sound waves to produce a picture or image onto a screen showing the inside of your body. An ultrasound is carried out by a trained health professional (sonographer, radiologist or sonologist) using a smooth, hand-held device called a transducer that…
What is a vacuum-assisted core biopsy? Vacuum-assisted core biopsy is a safe and minimally invasive procedure in which a sample of breast tissue is removed for examination. When breast imaging shows up very small abnormalities too small to be felt (i.e. anything unusual in the structure of the breast), Vacuum-assisted core biopsy is used to obtain samples of the breast…
What is a Nuclear Medicine VQ Scan? A ventilation–perfusion (VQ) scan is a nuclear medicine scan that uses radioactive material (radiopharmaceutical) to examine airflow (ventilation) and blood flow (perfusion) in the lungs. The aim of the scan is to look for evidence of any blood clot in the lungs, called pulmonary embolism (PE). A VQ scan is carried out in two parts.…
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