IMAGING

what does nuclear medicine study?

physiology or function

what are radiopharmaceuticals administered in nuclear medicine

pharmaceutical specific for organ or radionuclides emitting gamma rays that are visualized

what are hot and cold spots in nuclear medicine?

hot spots are areas of uptake of the radio material, cold spots show decreased uptake of radio material

what are examples of what nuclear imaging studies are used for?

kidney, heart, lungs, gallbladder, bones, cancer, bowel, infection, thyroid, brain, lymph nodes, meckel

what is dynamic imaging?

serial display of multiple frames of data—>like for visualization of blood flow

what is static imaging?

planar imaging, camera captures one image at a time and gives 2D image

what is whole body imaging

anterior and posterior sweeps of a patients body producing a 2d image

what is SPECT imaging

single photon emission computed tomography providing a 3d image increasing specificity and sensitivity

what is a MUGA scan

multigated acquisition

what is the purpose of a MUGA scan

to provide an ejection fraction, blood is radio labeled to get info abt CO, end systolic and diastolic, EF and velocity, and regional wall motion of the ventricle

what is normal nuclear medicine myocardial perfusion scan

the camera rotates around the patient and produces slices of the heart in different views, is shows areas of heart muscle that aren’t receiving enough blood flow

how does thyroid imaging work?

measures the uptake of radioactive iodine by the thyroid, it is transported to the thyroid and incorporated into hormone production, performed 4-6 AND 24 hour after dosage

what is the purpose of thyroid imaging?

to evaluate thyroid size, position, function, differentiate between masses in neck, base of tongue or mediastinum

what do benign adenomas appear as on thyroid imaging?

appear as nodules with increased uptake of iodine or hot nodules

what do malignant areas appear as on thyroid imaging?

take form of cold nodule because they dont take up iodine usually

what are some uses of genitourinary studies?

kidney function, renal blood flow, testicular, vesicoureteric reflux imaging

what are reasons for gastrointestinal studies?

hepatobiliary, gastroesophageal reflux, gastric emptying, GI bleeding, liver/spleen, meckels

what is the use for brain scan and cerebral blood flow imaging?

shows information about regional perfusion and brain function, determines brain death or encephalitis

what do brain scans and cerebral blood flow imaging show for children

hydrocephalus, localize epileptic foci, evaluate brain tumor, assess developmental disorders

what are three reasons for lung scan (ventilation and perfusion imagine)

1. diagnose and locate emboli

2. detects % of lung functioning effectively

3. assesses pull vascular supply by estimating regional pulmonary blood flow

what is a DEXA scan

enables diagnosis of osteoporosis or penia using laser x-ray imaging and computer software to assess fx risk

dual energy absorptiometry for its precision and low radiation exposure

what is it called when dye is injected into breast and followed through axilla to trace cancer

lymphoscintigraphy

what does positron emission tomography do?

uses positron emitting radionuclides and emission CT to give high resolution images of body function and metabolism, shows molecular level physiological function

what does brain imaging with PET show in epilepsy

increased metabolism during episode

what does brain imaging with PET show in stroke

anaerobic glycolysis, decreased o2 and blood flow

what does brain imaging with PET show in coronary artery disease

decreased myocardial blood flow

what does brain imaging with PET show in dementia

decreased glucose consumption (hypometabolic)

what does brain imaging with PET show in schizophrenia

reduced metabolic activity in frontal region

what does brain imaging with PET show in brain tumors

high uptake of radiopharmaceutical in gliomas correlates with histological grade

what does pet scan show with cardiac imaging

measurement of blood flow, myocardial perfusion, myocardial viability in CAD and transient ischemia

what does PET scan show in tumor imaging

measurement of glucose metabolism to determine tumor growt, tumor detection possible before MRI or ct

what does radiopaque mean in XRAY

not permitting transmission of X-RAY

What does radiolucent mean in XRAY

permitting partial transmission of xrays

what is chest x-ray used for

dx cancer, TB, pulmonary diseases and diseases of the mediastinum

how are orthopedic x-rays taken

two aspects are taken, 90 degrees to one another—>like anteroposterior and lateral

what can CT differentiate tumors from

soft tissue, air space, fluid and normal blood from clotted blood

what does CT produce

slices or cross sections without superimposing tissues on each other, can discern different characteristics of tissue structures within solid organs

what is the donut shaped frame of a CT scan called

gantry

what is endoscopy

general term for inspection of body cavity with a scope

what is mediastinoscopy

incision at base of anterior neck to examine and bx mediastinal LNs

what can mediastinoscopy identify

carcinoma, granulomatous infection, sarcoidosis, coccidia, histoplasmosis