Locating the exact cause of a medical condition can be challenging. Without performing surgery, doctors cannot look into a patient's body to see if a kidney problem, for example, is the result of an infection, tumor, cyst or blocked blood vessels brought about by a number of conditions. When doctors inject, or patients swallow or inhale, a radiopharmaceutical (medicine attached to a minute amount of radioactive material), doctors watch what happens using sensitive cameras that detect the radioactive particles. Images are taken in sequence and allow doctors to observe blood flow, watch metabolic processes take place, or see if a drug is going where it should. Nuclear scans often show metabolic abnormalities in bones, organs, blood vessels and glands before any changes in anatomy can be seen.

At Sutter Roseville, diagnosis is taken to a finer level than generally available due to the skill of the team, exceptional cameras that perform hybrid imaging, and advanced software that allows image fusion. Hybrid imaging and image fusion display function in a structural image framework and help pinpoint the location of an abnormality. The result is a more specific diagnosis that often redefines patient care. Examples of diagnostic uses of nuclear medicine include:

• Spotting tiny bone breaks (stress fractures) not visible by X-ray.
• Seeing problems with blood flow through the heart that could lead to a heart attack and determining damage to the heart after a heart attack.
• Locating metabolic changes that may indicate cancer is forming, spotting tumors at early stages and tracking where cancers have spread. Nuclear medicine is also helpful in determining if a suspected lesion is likely to be a benign or malignant condition.
• Identifying sites of infection, blood clots, and organ dysfunction in acute and chronic disease.
• In addition, the nuclear medicine medical team at Sutter Roseville is active in conducting clinical research and remains at the forefront of offering the latest proven diagnostic advances.

For more information on nuclear medicine diagnostic testing, visit our health information sections on nuclear scanning test, gallium scan, and positron emission tomography (PET). Specific test information can be found under bone scan, cardiac blood pool scan, gallbladder scan, kidney scan, liver and spleen scan, lung sc an, salivary gland scan, testicular scan, and vein scan.