Nuclear Medicine

Many conditions can be accurately diagnosed using nuclear medicine technology available at Mary Greeley Medical Center.

For this test, a patient is injected with a small amount of radioactive material called a tracer. The tracer will concentrate in the area of interest, and a nuclear camera will record the image for study by our board-certified radiologists.

Diagnostic Tests

Nuclear medicine at Mary Greeley Medical Center is useful to the health care team for a variety of tests and treatments, including:

Bone scans to find problems in the joints and bones, such as cancer, infection, stress fractures or arthritis, as well as evaluate joint replacement surgery.
Cardiac stress tests to determine if the heart muscle is getting the blood supply it needs and how well it is working. Images are taken at rest and again after the heart is exercised.
Liver and biliary scans to examine the liver, gallbladder, and liver ducts to determine if they are functioning properly.
Gastric intestinal bleed scans, which allow physicians to locate the source of bleeding in the stomach or intestine.
Thyroid scans to offer information on the size and function of the thyroid, which is helpful in the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism, cancer or other growths
To treat certain conditions, such as using radioactive material to localize a specific abnormality or help shrink abnormal tissue, such as in the treatment of thyroid tumors

Treatments

In addition to being a diagnostic tool, nuclear medicine is helpful in the treatment of certain conditions. These procedures are used when radioactive material is needed to localize a specific abnormality or help shrink abnormal tissue, such as in the treatment of thyroid tumors.

Specialized Tests

Nuclear medicine tests aren’t the only specialized diagnostic tools that Mary Greeley Medical Center professionals have at their disposal. The health care professionals at Mary Greeley Medical Center perform a variety of specialized tests, including: