NUCLEAR MEDICINE SECTION

OVERVIEW

Lung Center of the Philippines’ Nuclear Medicine section of the Department of Radiology is an advance diagnostic imaging and therapeutic facility.

This newly restored and renovated facility boast with the acquisition of the latest state-of-the-art Siemens Symbia Intevo Bold^TM SPECT-CT Dual Head gamma camera as the centre’s answer to meet the growing needs of its patients.

Patients can expect clinical service and cutting-edge expertise, integrated and complemented with an equally competent team composed of highly trained and skillful Nuclear Medicine Specialist, as well as efficient and accommodating staff.

 INTRODUCTION

What is Nuclear Medicine?

Nuclear Medicine is a medical specialty that uses small amount of radioactive material or radiopharmaceuticals (radiotracers) to diagnose or treat diseases.

Radiotracer is a chemical attached to a radioactive label that is administered into the body via injection, inhalation or swallowing. It accumulates in specific areas in the body and emits radiation that will be detected by a scanner (gamma camera).

For imaging different organs and diseases, different radiopharmaceuticals are used.

Nuclear Medicine procedures generally do not cause any side effects. The dose of radiation that your body receives is very small. The radiotracer will lose its radioactivity in the body over time. Patient is required to drink plenty of fluids to eliminate the radiotracer through urine.

Special precautions have to be taken such as drinking lots of water to induce urination and washing the hands thoroughly post administration of radiopharmaceuticals.

SERVICES OFFERED

The Section of Nuclear Medicine provides a full range of scintigraphic diagnostic, therapeutic and Radioimmuno assay (RIA) services, and also available Bone Mineral Densitometry using Dual Energy Xray Absorptiometry (DXA).

A. Scintigraphic (Diagnostic) Procedures

1. Genitourinary system

• GFR scan
• Renal scan
• Diuretic scan
• Renal Cortex scan

 2. Gastrointestinal system

• Liver/Spleen scan
• Hepatobiliary scan
• Meckel's Diverticulum
• GI Bleeding

3. Skeletal system

• Bone scan

4. Endocrine system

• Thyroid scan and Uptake (Tc99m / l-131)
• Parathyroid scan

5. Cardiac system

• Myocardial Perfusion Imaging (Treadmill / Dipyridamole - TI201 / Tc99m Sestamibi)
• MUGA scan
  

6. Respiratory system

• Lung Perfusion / Ventilation scan
  

7. Oncology

• Whole Body Scans (l-131, Ga-67, Tl201, MIBG I-131)

8. Lymphatic system

• Lymphoscintigraphy
• Sentinel Node scan

9. Infectious / Inflammation

• WBC Imaging with or without Bone Marrow Imaging
• 3-Phase Bone scan (Bone Infection)

10. Others

• Scintimammography
• Salivary scan
• Testicular scan
  

B. Therapeutic Procedures

1. Low Doses l-131 RAI Therapy
2. High Doses l-131 RAI Therapy

C. RadioImmuno Assay Test (RIA)

D. Bone Densitometry Procedures (DXA)

PREPARATION

• No special preparation is required for imaging involving the bones, inflammatory, lymphatics, renal and pulmonary systems.

• Imaging involving the gastrointestinal and cardiac system requires fasting of at least 4 hours.

• Some scans require premedication.

• Thyroid scan may require cessation of certain medication prior to the scan (with the discretion of the attending physician).

MORE INFORMATION

How are nuclear medicine scans done?

Nuclear medicine scans may be performed on many organs and tissues of the body. Each type of scan employs certain technology, radionuclides, and procedures.

A nuclear medicine scan consists of 3 phases: radiotracer (radionuclide) administration, image acquisitions, and image interpretation. The amount of time between administration of the tracer and the taking of the images may range from a few moments to a few days. The time depends on the body tissue being examined and the tracer being used. Some scans are completed in minutes, while others may need the patient to return a few times over the course of several days.

For more information and for further inquiries, please contact us at:

LCP Direct line: (02) 924-6101 @local numbers:.

Digital Radiography (X-ray) 1323

Ultrasound: 1326

CT/ MRI: 1331

Radiation Therapy 1751

Nuclear Medicine TBA