Nuclear medicine imaging uses small amounts of radioactive tracers and imaging technologies like gamma cameras and PET/SPECT scanners to visualize how the body functions at the cellular level. It can help detect diseases earlier than other methods and guide treatment. Nuclear medicine is commonly used to diagnose and manage cancers, heart conditions, brain disorders and more. It involves minimal radiation exposure and has been safely used for decades. Future developments may include more hybrid imaging combining modalities to provide both anatomical and functional information.

1. NUCLEAR MEDICINE
IMAGING
DEC -2022
JAYAPANDIYAN
PH:8220083746

2. What is Nuclear Medicine Imaging?
Why are Nuclear Medicine Imaging unique?
How are Nuclear Medicine Imaging used?
How do Nuclear Medicine Imaging work?
Are Nuclear Medicine Imaging safe?
What is the future of Nuclear Imaging?

3. History
What are Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging?
 Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts
of radioactive material to diagnose and determine the severity or treat a
variety of diseases, including many types of cancers, heart disease,
gastrointestinal, endocrine, neurological disorders, and other
abnormalities within the body.
 The discovery of x-rays more than a century ago produce primarily
structural pictures only.
 In nuclear medicine we are probing deep inside the body to reveal its
inner workings. Nuclear medicine visualizes how the body parts function
and what’s happening at the cellular and molecular levels.

4. With the help of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging,
scientists and healthcare providers are:
 Gaining a better understanding of the pathways of disease
 Quickly assessing new drugs – to check and to find new
 Improving the selection of therapy
 Monitoring patient response to treatment
 Finding new ways to identify individuals at risk for disease.

5. Why are Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
unique?
 In conventional diagnostic imaging, an external source of
energy such as x-rays, magnetic fields, or ultrasound waves is
used to produce pictures of bone and soft tissue.
 In nuclear medicine and molecular imaging procedures, the
energy source is introduced into the body, where it gets
incorporated in a specific tissue, organ, or process and is then
detected by an external device (gamma camera, SPECT or PET
scanners) to provide information on organ function and
cellular activity.

6.  The gamma camera is an imaging technique used to carry out
functional scans of the brain, thyroid, lungs, liver, gallbladder, kidneys,
and skeleton.
 SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography ) scans -
measure gamma rays, the decay of the radiotracers used.
 PET(positron emission tomography) scans - small particles called
positrons.
 Since the disease begins with microscopic cell changes, nuclear
medicine has the potential to identify disease in an earlier, more
treatable stage, often before conventional imaging and other tests are
able to reveal abnormalities.
 With their ability to identify the early signs of disease and other
abnormalities, nuclear medicine offers the potential to change
medical care from reactive to proactive, saving and improving
countless lives.

7. How is Nuclear Medicine used?
 Nuclear medicine is playing an increasingly important role in patient
care, medical research, and pharmaceutical development.
 Nuclear medicine is integral to the care of patients with cancer, heart
disease, and brain disorders
 Colon, and lung cancer are just a few of the many types of cancer in
which nuclear and molecular imaging can truly change the direction and
and outcome of patient care.

8.  A myocardial perfusion scan uses a tiny amount of a radioactive substance,
called a radioactive tracer. The tracer travels through the bloodstream and
is absorbed by the healthy heart muscle. On the scan, the areas where the
tracer has been absorbed look different from the areas that do not absorb
it. Areas that are damaged or don't have good blood flow do not absorb
the tracer.
 In addition to helping physicians diagnose dementia(memory loss), nuclear
imaging now offers imaging agents that successfully identify early changes
in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease. (Alzheimer's disease is a
progressive disorder that causes brain cells to degenerate and die.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia)
 In the laboratory, a better understanding of the molecular pathways and
mechanisms of disease, helps the researchers quickly assess new therapies,
nuclear medicine, and molecular imaging are also contributing to the
accelerated development of new and more effective drugs.

9. How does Nuclear Medicine work?
 Nuclear medicine involves a signal-producing imaging agent that is
introduced into the body, usually by injection, and an imaging device
capable of detecting and using the probe’s signals to create detailed
images.
 Radiopharmaceutical - the imaging agent is a compound that includes a
small amount of radioactive material called a radiotracer. Radiotracers
(which are also called radiopharmaceuticals or radionuclides) produce a
signal that can be detected by a gamma camera or a positron emission
tomography (PET) scanner.

10. Are Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging safe?
 Nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures use small amounts of radioactive
material, sometimes about the same amount of radiation a person receives
in a year of normal living. As a result, the radiation risk involved in such
procedures is very low compared to the potential benefits.
 Nuclear medicine specialists use the ALARA principle (As Low As
Reasonably Achievable) to carefully select the amount of radiotracer that
will provide an accurate test with the least amount of radiation exposure to
the patient.
 Nuclear medicine procedures have been performed for more than 50 years
on adults and for more than 40 years on infants and children of all ages
without any known adverse effects.

11. What is the future of Nuclear and Molecular Imaging?
 Every day, nuclear imaging procedures make a difference in the lives of patients by
contributing to the detection, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of disease. With
the development of new technologies and imaging agents, many of which are now in
clinical trials, nuclear medicine and molecular imaging promise to continue to deliver
improvements to patient care.
Hybrid Imaging
 The combination of two imaging techniques—called co-registration, fusion imaging,
or hybrid imaging—allows information from two different types of scans to be
viewed in a single set of images. PET/CT and SPECT/CT, a combination of PET or
SPECT and CT, have become standard diagnostic tools because they provide detail on
both the anatomy and the function of organs and tissues.
 New forms of hybrid imaging are in use or in development, including PET/MR,
PET/ultrasound, and various optical technologies fused with conventional imaging
techniques.

12. Thank You