Lets find out the extent of a tumor, detect people in the future suffer Alzheimer’s or other dementia’s, in addition to study epilepsy and other psychiatric disorders. Like other forms of energy, nuclear is to repair and build , not only to destroy , but most of the population directly associated with cancer and nuclear power plants. However, a new discipline, nuclear medicine, has become an increasingly more widespread and accurate way to diagnose and treat disease. At present the medical specialty devoted 90 % of cases the diagnosis of diseases and 10 % to treatment.
Through nuclear medicine can be explored and treat heart, kidney, intestine and other organs. 30% of activity of a Nuclear Medicine Department is related to oncology, 20%, with cardiology, 5%, with neurology, and the rest with other medical specialties. In Spain all the major public health centers have a Nuclear Medicine Department. Our country has 140 centers and, each yea, 650 000 scans were performed and 60,000 conventional star with his technique, PET ( Positron Emission Tomography).
Radio pharmaceuticals or “magic bullets”
nuclear medicine tests involve giving patients a product, a specific radio pharmaceutical , led to the body that is to be studied or treated. This radio pharmaceutical is so called because it emits a radiation that bring together a small devices, gamma cameras. The captured radiation is converted into an electrical signal and images on a computer. Thus, one can study the arrival of the drug to the organ under study, distribution, and then disposal.
Radio pharmaceuticals genuine act as “magic bullets” that are sent directly to a tumor to study or treat and destroy cancer cells. This nuclear therapy is already a reality in a type of cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma , which is treated on an outpatient basis (no hospital admission ) and with almost no side effects. Thanks to new radio pharmaceuticals have been successful in reducing bone metastases and the pain they cause.
The average life of such radio pharmaceuticals (also called radioisotopes ) range . Disappear within hours or at most a day, so that nuclear medicine techniques are considered low risk for patients who undergo them and for people who are nearby.
Techniques and applications star:
This specialty consists of various techniques with many advantages for patients: possible to study both the morphology of an organ, as its function can be identified and whether a tumor is growing or not and even whether – cells remain alive and detect smaller lesions and reach throughout the body.
At this time:
The classic and most common technique is the scan, which uses a gamma camera to image the organ studied, with which you can see the areas in operation. Also used more modern and Computerized Tomography Single Photon Emission (SPECT in ALARA), which enables high resolution three dimensional images , my so useful for diagnosing early oncological, cardiological or neurological. And Positron Emission Tomography ( PET ), which enables to ascertain the extent of a tumor in one step and more nascent stages with other techniques to distinguish people with normal aging that will develop Alzheimer’s or other dementias And to study epilepsy and other psychiatric disorders such as psychosis and schizophrenia.
In future:
The future requires the combination of some of their techniques through hybrid or multimodal devices, such as PET -CT (CT, computerized axial tomography ) , PET- MRI (MRI, magnetic resonance imaging) and SPECT- CT that merge the images obtained using different techniques. In this way , we could obtain more accurate diagnoses. With the PET -CT can be diagnosed more than 30 % of tumors of unknown origin that are not detectable with other techniques, in addition to detect at what stage of development are exactly and what are its size and activity ( if they continue to grow ) to adjust and plan treatment.
These devices make it possible to multimodal function of an organ, as well as the location and extent of injuries. The advantages of this technique for patients can be understood with an example chart, the illustrations of “Where ‘s Waldo ? “, in which the eyes are challenged to look for this character, wearing a striped shirt white and red , among many others in a colorful page. If Wally were placed with a white striped shirt and black on a black and white page, the effort to find it would be higher. Likewise, nuclear medicine provides the color medical images, which is easier to identify and track the images offered by the TAC.
Before and after a scan:
Nuclear medicine scans are becoming more frequent and anyone can apply. Although often it may seem that these people suffer great distress to be explored by this technique, most suffer anxiety -like disease that cancer – or surgery to the face to treat it. This was revealed by a study last year by the Nuclear Medicine Department directs Comín Josep Martín , Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge.
The duration of these tests is variable, between 30 and 60 minutes. They are not invasive or painful. The only slight inconvenience for the patient is the need to remain very still during the test. Radio pharmaceuticals necessary to perform are administered intravenously or orally if they are diagnostic tests, and injections, including joint local anesthesia , when scans are performed for therapeutic purposes. The medical techniques such rarely produce adverse effects and even, in two situations, such as pregnancy and breastfeeding, the contraindication is relative but not absolute.
Once the scan is complete , patients can go home on their own feet, although they are advised to remain isolated one day and not using public transport in order to minimize the possibility of emitting radiation. Although this risk is minimal. In women it was found that certain radio pharmaceuticals can be eliminated through breast milk, so it is possible that breastfeeding should be abolished. Apart from these precautions, patients should not take any additional measures after a scan of this type.
In Spain, the techniques are available to virtually all people who need them and the technologies required to implement them have been distributed throughout the country. However, this distribution is irregular, so that hinterland communities have less equipment is against the autonomy of the periphery. Currently, all major public health centers have a Nuclear Medicine Department. In our country there are 140 nuclear medicine centers and 650 000 are made each year and 60,000 scans with conventional PET technology. His first camera dates from 1995 and in 2001 opened the first camera in a public hospital, the Hospital Virgen del Rocío de Sevilla, which led to the acceptance of technology by the public administration and the Spanish scientific community. At present, the PET technique is available in almost all regions.
Guidelines prior to patients undergoing a nuclear medicine test:
* Patients should remain calm and trust in this form of medicine which uses atoms to diagnose and treat effectively.
* If you take medication you must inform the doctor. He will decide whether to suspend your intake To skip the test.
* Women who are pregnant or think pregnant should tell their doctor or nurse before undergoing a nuclear medicine test. As a rule , should not receive radiation.
* Should avoid contact with children and pregnant the same day of exploration. And the day after the test, do not take the arms to children or subirselos knees.
* Drink fluids -water or juices, helps eliminate the injected radio pharmaceutical.
* The farther you are from other people and more time has elapsed after the examination, unless they are radiate.
Source: Comm Josep Martín , Hospital de Bellvitge , and SEMN
