Nuclear Medicine
31.01.2022

Nuclear medicine is the medical specialty involving the use of radioactive isotopes in order to diagnose diseases.

FOR DİAGNOSTIC PURPOSES
Heart Diseases (Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery)
Thyroid and Endocrine System Diseases
Bone Diseases (Bone Scintigraphy, Whole body bone scintigraphy, three-phase bone scintigraphy, leukocyte labeling)
Renal and Genital System Diseases (Dynamic and static renalscintigraphies, VUR scintigraphy)
Gastrointestinal System Diseases (Stomach, Intestine, Liver and Biliary tract diseases)
Cancer

OTHER
Lung perfusion / ventilation scintigraphyfor pulmonary embolism,
Lachrymal duct scintigraphyfor lachrymal duct obstructions,
Salivary gland scintigraphy for salivary gland diseases,
Ga-67 or labeled leukocyte scintigraphy for infection, abscess or idiopathic fever,
Labeled leukocyte scintigraphy or bone marrowscintigraphy for diabetic foot.

WHAT IS PET/CT
PET/CT, which is the state of the art method for diagnosis and treatment monitoring of cancer used today, is composed of combining two technologies. While PET (Positron Emission Tomography) gives information about cell function and metabolism, CT (Computed Tomography) provides anatomical information. In a single session, both metabolic function and anatomy of cells are displayed three-dimensionally, giving detailed and accurate information.The most important information about the patient’s condition obtained by this way allows to choose the best treatment modality for especially cancer patients. Even small tumors can easily be detected through PET/CT.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE OF PET/CT FROM PET ALONE
PET scanners can detect metabolism of tumor foci and small tumors. However, without the CT component PET is not sufficient to detect exactlocations of these. Moreover, PET/CT devices are prominently faster than PET devices and they are also designed large for patients with claustrophobia.

FOR WHICH DİSEASES IS PET/CT USED
PET/CT is used for diagnosis, staging (extent of spread) and evaluating treatment response of oncologic diseases.
It is also used for determining presence of living tissue in myocardia of patients with myocardial infarction.
In neurology, it is used in determining epilepsy foci accurately.
It enables early detection of diseases such as Alzheimer.

HOW DOES RADIOTHERAPY PLANNING AFFECT TREATMENT OUTCOME
Radiotherapy planning with PET/CT device has become the gold standard worldwide. By this way, target tumor tissue is identified more clearly, and tumor region is irradiated more effectively, which minimizes damage to the neighboring normal tissue.

HOW IS A PET/CT PERFORMED
After injecting patients with the drug, 45 minutes to 1 hour is waited for absorption of the drug by cancer cells. At the end of this period, scan begins. During scan, patient waits 35 to 45 minutes in the supine position.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF PET/CT
Cancerous cells can be detected accurately at early stage.
Relapses are detected earlier.
Perfect image quality and resolution is achieved.
Since procedure can be completed in a much shorter period of time, patient comfort improves.
The tumor treated with radiotherapy can be irradiated more effectively. Thus, the surrounding healthy tissues are protected better.