Nuclear Medicine involves the use of radioactive materials, or isotopes, given to patients in small amounts to perform diagnostic tests or treat certain diseases.
Most procedures can be performed on an inpatient or outpatient basis and require little or no patient preparation.
Nuclear Medicine diagnostic procedures are safe and painless, and can help physicians diagnose cardiovascular disease, cancer, thyroid disorders, orthopedic problems, gallbladder diseases and other conditions.
The hospital has an on-site, fixed PET-CT unit and can schedule patients Monday-Friday for scans. The PET (positron emission tomography) scanner detects metabolic activity in the body that can show heart, brain and nervous system conditions, as well as cancer. It can be used separately or combined with a CT scan to identify the precise locations of increased metabolic activity.