NUCLEAR MEDICINE (SCINTIGRAPHY)

Nuclear Medicine is a metabolic imaging technique which allows organ functions to be analysed and certain diseases to be looked for. In this sense, it is complementary to information obtained by conventional radiology analyses. The examinations carried out, called scintigraphies, are performed using a slightly radioactive product which is usually administered intravenously and which is chosen based on the organ being examined or the illness being looked for (bone, lungs, heart, kidneys, thyroid, lymphatic system, cancer, etc.).

Its journey through and its concentration in the body are determined using a camera called a gamma camera or a scintillation camera which captures the radioactive ray emitted by this substance. The cameras used nowadays allow recording of the whole body but also of localised regions in the form of complete rotation around the patient allowing the reconstruction of different sectional planes.