NUCLEAR MEDICINE

Nuclear Medicine is a type of diagnostic imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive substances, usually injected intravenously, to provide functional information about organs such as the heart. Images are taken on a gamma camera, which detects the radiation released from the body.

Nuclear medicine provides functional information for many organs of the body specially to detect a variety of diseases in the heart.

At Medscan Merrylands we use Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT/CT). This technology uses a nuclear medicine gamma camera with a very low dose CT scan. These further increases accuracy and precision of the diagnosis.

Some of the heart functions that can be assessed with Nuclear Medicine/ SPECT include:

• Myocardial Perfusion

• Myocardial Viability

• Measurement of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction

• Detect Cardiac Amyloidosis

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, please advise our staff before the test is performed, as special precautions may have to be taken.

Please bring your referral (letter from your doctor) and your Medicare and/or Pension Health care card with you to your appointment. It is important to bring all previous imaging and reports relating to the region.

Myocardial Perfusion Scan (MIBI Scan)

This scan is a 3-part scan, and you will be required to be at the practice for 4-5 hours.

Part 1 involves an injection on a radioactive tracer and a 15min scan, looking at your heart at rest.

Part 2 involves a stress test, which aims to exercise the heart encouraging more blood flow to the heart. This can be performed in 2 ways, either running on a treadmill or injection a pharmaceutical called adenosine.

Part 1 involves 30min scan to look at your heart after stressing.

1. You must stop all caffeine for 24hrs prior to the test (tea, coffee, herbal drinks, chocolate, energy drinks, soft drinks, decaf)

2. If you are diabetic:

a. Insulin dependent: take half the dose in the morning of your test with a light breakfast

b. Tablet Controlled: stop the morning of the test and bring the tablet with you to have during lunch

3. Take all other medications as normal

4. Have a light breakfast I the morning of the test

5. Optional: bring some lunch to have after the stress test

DPD Amyloid Scan

This scan is a 3-part scan, and you will be required to be at the practice for 4 hours.

Part 1 involves an injection on a radioactive tracer.

Part 2 happens 1 hour after the injection and last for 30 mins

Part 3 happens 3 hours after the injection and last for 30 mins.

Gated Heart Pool Scan

This scan involves 2 injections of a radioactive tracer and generally a 1.5-hour scan.

After your examination, the images from your study will be available on the Medscan Z-tech app. A report written by our radiologists, along with the images will be sent directly to your referring doctor. Medscan will store digital copies of all studies on our secure database for comparison with any future examinations. All images are available online with the Medscan Z-link app

1. What am I injected with?

In most studies, a radioactive tracer labelled with Technetium is injected into the bloodstream through your veins. This will emit gamma rays and will get picked up by the gamma camera to construct images.

2. Are there any side effects from the injection?

It is very rare to have an allergic reaction (and there is no cross-reaction between radioactive tracers and the intravenous contrast used for CT scans or angiograms), but a radiologist is present if a situation arises.

3. Is it ok to be around children after my nuclear medicine exam?

The amount of radiation emitted from your body depends on the type of examination you are having. In general, this is quite small. However, you may prefer to minimize prolonged and close contact (particularly with small children and pregnant women) for up to 24 hours after tracer injection. If you are pregnant (or think you may be) or are breastfeeding, please inform our staff at the time of booking.

4. How long does the injection stay in my system?

The half-life of Technetium is 6 hours. 24 hours after injection, there is only a negligible amount of isotope remaining in your body.

5. Will I be able to drive after?

You should not feel any different or experience any drowsiness after the injection. Though, if you have had previous unpleasant experiences with needles or injections, please inform our technologist.