Biomedical and Clinical Research

Nuclear medicine

Nuclear medicine is a specialized category of radiology that uses very small amounts of radioactive materials, or radiopharmaceuticals, to examine organ function and structure. Nuclear medicine imaging consists of many different disciplines like chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer technology, and medicine. This is often used to help diagnose and treat abnormalities very early in the progression of a disease, such as thyroid cancer.

As X-rays pass through soft tissue, such as intestines, muscles, and blood vessels, these tissues are difficult to visualize on a standard X-ray, unless a contrast agent is used. This makes the tissue to be seen clearly. Nuclear imaging provides visualization of organ and tissue structure as well as function. The extent to which a radiopharmaceutical is absorbed by a particular organ or tissue may indicate the level of function of the organ or tissue being studied.