The Nuclear Medicine or Nuclear Cardiology of the Instituto Cardiovascular of the FCV is a medical specialty that performs diagnoses and treatments to specific pathologies. It is performed through the use of high technology and radioactive compounds that allow the precise identification of the pathologies. Cardiac nuclear medicine images evaluate the heart to identify coronary artery disease and cardiomyopathy (heart muscle diseases). It can also be used to help determine if the heart has been damaged by chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
This service of the Instituto Cardiovascular of the FCV has more than 10 years of experience in carrying out studies of Nuclear Medicine.
“Nuclear medicine images provide unique information that generally cannot be obtained using other imaging procedures”.
The Instituto Cardiovascular of the FCV has a latest-generation molecular diagnostic medical equipment, unique in the region, to provide the best comprehensive care to patients. With this technology, specific therapeutic procedures in some diseases can be carried out as treatment alternatives.
Nuclear medicine imaging procedures are non-invasive. Except for intravenous injections, they are generally painless. These tests use radioactive materials called radiopharmaceuticals or radio waves to help physicians diagnose and evaluate medical conditions.
This diagnostic technique uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radio waves that are usually injected into the bloodstream, inhaled, or swallowed. The radiotracer travels through the area being examined and delivers energy in the form of gamma rays that are detected by a special camera and computer to create images of the inside of your body.
Nuclear Medicine Benefits
- Cardiac nuclear medicine exams provide images of the distribution of blood flow to the heart muscle and can be used to visualize heart function.
- They are safe and minimally invasive procedures.
- They allow early detection of molecular alterations, earlier than conventional anatomical imaging methods.
- The gammagraphy, because it is a comprehensive study, allows us to perform full-body images of the patients.
- The gammagraphy produces less radiation than conventional studies in pediatric pathologies.
- The gamma camera is an equipment that has the advantage of being open, that is to say, the patient does not have the feeling of being closed in. Ideal for patients suffering from claustrophobia.
- Nuclear medicine exams provide unique information, including details about the function and anatomy of the body's structures, which is usually impossible to achieve by other imaging procedures.
- Nuclear medicine scans provide the most useful information possible for the diagnosis or treatment of many diseases.
- A nuclear medicine scan is cheaper and may provide more accurate information than exploratory surgery.
Studies in Nuclear Cardiology or Nuclear Cardiac Medicine
Nuclear Medicine Equipment
SPECT Gamma Camera (GE) Millennium MG Series Nuclear Medicine
This equipment detects the gamma radiation coming from the patient himself to whom a radioactive tracer (radioisotope) has been administered, usually intravenously. These radioactive substances are known to be harmless to the body.
From several projections, a three-dimensional reconstruction of the organ under study can be made, which is what is called SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography).
The X-rays, on the other hand, perform an anatomical analysis, while the gammagraphic studies allow above all to achieve a functional analysis of the organs. In such a way that the function and metabolism of the patient can be evaluated.
Nuclear Medicine services are provided to patients of the Instituto Cardiovascular of the FCV, both inpatient and outpatient; patients enrolled in the Compulsory Health Plan and prepaid medicine plans, private patients, and patients from other hospital institutions.
The Nuclear Medicine service of Instituto Cardiovascular of the FCV has great experience in nuclear cardiology; additionally, it is a national reference point in ablation therapy with I 131, and it is also licensed for treatments with Radio 223, a radiopharmaceutical that contributes to the quality of life of patients suffering from prostate cancer.
