The Division of Nuclear Medicine provides diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, including cardiac, hematology and oncology, and endocrine services (particularly thyroid disorders and parathyroid disease). The division also offers a comprehensive range of diagnostic gastrointestinal, genitourinary, musculoskeletal, pulmonary, and neurologic exams.

A few examples of specific studies include bone mineral densitometry with DEXA for osteoporosis, labeled leukocyte imaging for abscess localization, exercise and pharmacologic myocardial perfusion imaging, monoclonal antibody imaging for detection of prostate and colorectal cancer metastases, whole-body thallium imaging, and SPECT for the detection and grading of tumors.

Therapeutic procedures include the use of radioactive iodine treatment of hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer, strontium or samarium therapy is provided for painful bony metastases and P-32 therapy for hematologic disorders (such as thrombocytosis). New antibody therapies labeled with yttrium-90 (Zevalin) and I-131 (Bexxar) are also being utilized for patients who are no longer responding well to their chemotherapy.

Equipment for the Department of Nuclear Medicine includes: two variable angle SPECT cameras (one of which is coincidence/PET capable), a single head spot camera with SPECT capabilities, two dual-headed whole body cameras with SPECT capabilities, a multi-slice PET/CT scanner. In April 2007, we expect to have a new SPECT/CT scanner in service.

For bone densitometry, we use hologic DEXA units which measures AP spine, lateral spine, hip, wrist, and whole body regions and a Hologic Sahara ultrasound densitometer for osteoporosis screening in primary care clinics.

The Nuclear Medicine department is working hard to integrate new imaging tracers, modalities, and therapies as they become available to better serve the regions patient population and keep the department at the leading edge of imaging practices.

The Nuclear Medicine department helps to train technologists, accepts visiting fellowship candidates, and trains radiology residents, medical students, and nuclear medicine residents.

David K. Shelton, M.D.
Rosalie Hagge, M.D.
Gary Caputo, M.D.
Cameron Foster, M.D.