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Nuclear Scintigraphy Nuclear scintigraphy (also known as nuclear medicine) is the imaging specialty that involves the use of radioactive isotopes in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. In nuclear medicine, a radioisotope is introduced into the body. The isotope is then taken up in different amounts by different organs. A diagnosis is made in nuclear medicine by imaging the distribution of the radioactive element within the body. The radiation emitted from the radioisotope is detected by a scintillation counter (this is why nuclear medicine is referred to as nuclear scintigraphy) and an image of the radioactivity is produced. The following is an image of a bone scan of a dog.
It should be noted that in diagnostic nuclear medicine, the radiation doses are low and your pet will not feel any untoward effects from their nuclear medicine procedure. Patients must be hospitalized for 24 hours to comply with California state law. This ‘holding period’ is required to allow the radioactivity to decay before the patient is released from the hospital. VICSD specialises in the following nuclear medicine studies:
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