Nuclear Medicine

Often doctors miss an important detail or abnormality that could end fatally for the patient they are treating. With the continual increase in science and technology the medical field is being improved on a daily basis. New technology, such as nuclear medicine technology, allows doctors and physicians to treat patients more effectively and inflict less discomfort. Nuclear medicine uses images much like x-rays to gather information about the structure and function of varying body parts and organs. Nuclear medicine technology uses radiopharmaceuticals, small amounts of radioactive material, and specially developed cameras to create images of the body part they wish to study. For nuclear medicine to work it requires the patient to ingest radiopharmaceuticals orally. This radioactive material is created in a way that allows it to be collected by the organ or body part that doctors wish to study. The radiopharmaceuticals are collected by the bodies organs and nuclear medicine technology allow small scale gamma rays that are given off to be measured by a camera that is able to record gamma rays. These special cameras work in junction with computers. Nuclear medicine technology allows the images created by the cameras to be digitalized and sent to a computer, where it can then be modified or sent to another location. Nuclear medicine works in a very similar way to X-rays, however it uses smaller wavelengths so it is safer.

Nuclear medicine allows doctors to find information that is not usually readily available without the use of a diagnostic test or surgery. Diagnostic tests and surgery can be both painful and expensive. Nuclear technology provides patients with a cheap and painless alternative to these common forms of diagnosis. Nuclear medicine can allow a doctor to find and diagnose medical problems and abnormalities that may not have become apparent using another form of test. It can help to catch these abnormalities early on and therefore increase the chance of successfully treating them. For instance, if a patient has cancer or another form of abnormality it may go unnoticed for too long of a time. The longer that cancer goes unnoticed the harder it becomes to treat and cure. If cancer goes unnoticed and untreated it is fatal. Nuclear medicine increases the chance for doctors to find these abnormalities and treat them in a timely fashion. This technology can help save lives. A nuclear medicine technologist is someone who is trained in the science of nuclear medicine and technology. To be qualified for this position an individual must undergo extensive education. The Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board was created in 1987 for the purpose of administering examinations to nuclear medicine technologists to ensure that they are qualified to practice nuclear medicine. Located in Tucker, Georgia, it is the leading nuclear medicine technology certification board in the United States. As technology keeps improving we can hope that new discoveries will be made and innovative people will come up with new ideas that will continue to improve the medical field., such as nuclear medicine has.