Nuclear Medicine, Molecular Imaging and Therapy

Nuclear Medicine, Molecular Imaging and Therapy

Nuclear Medicine, the most used form of molecular imaging, involves the injection of chemicals or pharmaceuticals labelled with radioactive tracers. These substances are subject to the same pharmacokinetic processes as other drugs but the molecular processes can however be imaged since the radioactive portion of each “radiopharmaceutical” emits an x-ray-like photon or “gamma-ray” detectable by either a gamma or PET camera depending on the type of radioactive decay process innate to that tracer when coupled to the pharmaceutical. In essence the imaging shows the physiological processes taking place in the body rather than merely looking at anatomy as is the case in conventional radiology.

Modern Medicine – Oct/Nov 2018