Nuclear medicine

Nuclear medicine holds a high position in LISSOD performance. In LISSOD Nuclear Medicine Department all studies have been implemented according to the latest achievements of the global practice. The advantages of nuclear medicine diagnostic methods are high sensitivity, possibility of definition not only of structural, but also of functional changes of the tested organs as well as possibility of simultaneous visualization of all sections of the examined organ or the system of organism with relatively small radiation exposure of the patient.

Scintigraphy is the general name for radiodiagnosis tests, inherently determination of functional condition of the organs and the systems of organism applying single-photon emission computer tomograph (gamma camera).

In oncology scintigraphic methods are used in 3 main directions:

• diagnostics and staging of cancer diseases (based on specific accumulation of radiopharmaceuticals in the cells and the tissues of tumor);
• detecting metastatic disease on pre-clinic level, particularly, in the bones of skeleton (in many cases it can be done several months earlier than in case of X-ray studies);
• determination of functional condition of organs and systems of the patient prior to surgical treatment and on the background of chemotherapy in order to prevent complications, adverse reactions.

In the Nuclear Medicine Department modern scintillation gamma camera is installed, which is a complicated computer and scintigraphic complex.

Gamma camera allows receiving, storing and processing images of individual organ, system or the whole body in wide range of scintigraphic modes: static and dynamic, planar and tomographic ones.

Applying of single-photon emission computer tomography (SPECT) with bone scintigraphy with 3D- images reconstruction in LISSOD allows finding out and differentiating additionally up to 30% of pathological changes in comparison with standard planar modes.

It is important to know, that precise diagnostics, which is provided by qualified and experienced specialists before pronounced clinical manifestations of the onset disease, makes the grounds for successful treatment.

The following tests are executed in Nuclear Medicine Department for further effective cancer treatment:

• bone system (osteoscintigraphy,  bone scan);
• scintigraphy of kidneys;
• lymphoscintigraphy (detection of sentinel node);
• hepatoscintigraphy;
• thyroid scintigraphy;
• scintigraphy of parathyroid glands ;
• сsialoscintigraphy;
• scintigraphy of esophagus, stomach;
• scintigraphy with radiolabeled peptide somatostatin analogs (in cases of neuroendocrinal tumors, carcinoid);
• perfusion pulmonoscintigraphy.