Diagnosing
Diseases
By Sushma & Shreeya
What is nuclear
medicine?
Nuclear medicine uses radioactive material
inside the body to see how organs or tissue are
functioning (for diagnosis) or to target and
destroy damaged or diseased organs or tissue
(for treatment). An example of this is PET
scanning.
How are radioisotopes
administered?
Nuclear medicine uses radioactive isotopes to
examine the blood flow to specific organs and
assess organ function or bone growth. The emitted
radiation can be captured by various imaging
techniques.
They can be given by:
-
injection: administering a liquid into a person’s
body using a needle
inhalation: breathing a substance in
or orally
WHAT IS PET SCAN?
A PET (positron emission tomography) scan is a type
of imaging test that is used to diagnose certain
diseases including cancer
PET scans can be used to:
find tumours
●
●
●
●
determine if a lump is cancer
diagnose brain disorders
diagnose heart disease
help diagnose and manage central nervous
system disorders such as depression, epilepsy,
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
EXAMPLES
Radioisotope
Use
Half life
Phosphorus-32
Treatment of leukemia
14.3 days
Barium-137
Treatment of acute appendiceal
disease
2.6 minutes
Iodine-123
Monitoring thyroid and adrenal
glands and assessment of damage
caused by strokes
13.2 hours
Iron-59
Measurement of blood flow and
volume.
Thallium-201
Myocardial perfusion imaging
(MPI) used for the diagnosis of
myocardial infarction
44.6 days
3 days
Thank you!