Single-photon emission computed tomography is a nuclear medicine tomographic imaging technique using gamma rays. It is very similar to conventional nuclear medicine planar imaging using a gamma camera, but is able to provide true 3D information. This information is typically presented as cross-sectional slices through the patient, but can be freely reformatted or manipulated as required.
Nuclear medicine or nucleology is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging, in a sense, is "radiology done inside out" because it records radiation emitting from within the body rather than radiation that is generated by external sources like X-rays. In addition, nuclear medicine scans differ from radiology, as the emphasis is not on imaging anatomy, but on the function. For such reason, it is called a physiological imaging modality. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans are the two most common imaging modalities in nuclear medicine.
Technetium (99mTc) sestamibi (INN) is a pharmaceutical agent used in nuclear medicine imaging. The drug is a coordination complex consisting of the radioisotope technetium-99m bound to six (sesta=6) methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) ligands. The anion is not defined. The generic drug became available late September 2008. A scan of a patient using MIBI is commonly known as a "MIBI scan".
Scintigraphy, also known as a gamma scan, is a diagnostic test in nuclear medicine, where radioisotopes attached to drugs that travel to a specific organ or tissue (radiopharmaceuticals) are taken internally and the emitted gamma radiation is captured by external detectors to form two-dimensional images in a similar process to the capture of x-ray images. In contrast, SPECT and positron emission tomography (PET) form 3-dimensional images and are therefore classified as separate techniques from scintigraphy, although they also use gamma cameras to detect internal radiation. Scintigraphy is unlike a diagnostic X-ray where external radiation is passed through the body to form an image.
The pertechnetate ion is an oxyanion with the chemical formula TcO−
4. It is often used as a convenient water-soluble source of isotopes of the radioactive element technetium (Tc). In particular it is used to carry the 99mTc isotope which is commonly used in nuclear medicine in several nuclear scanning procedures.
A bone scan or bone scintigraphy is a nuclear medicine imaging technique of the bone. It can help diagnose a number of bone conditions, including cancer of the bone or metastasis, location of bone inflammation and fractures, and bone infection (osteomyelitis).
A gallium scan is a type of nuclear medicine test that uses either a gallium-67 (67Ga) or gallium-68 (68Ga) radiopharmaceutical to obtain images of a specific type of tissue, or disease state of tissue. Gallium salts like gallium citrate and gallium nitrate may be used. The form of salt is not important, since it is the freely dissolved gallium ion Ga3+ which is active. Both 67Ga and 68Ga salts have similar uptake mechanisms. Gallium can also be used in other forms, for example 68Ga-PSMA is used for cancer imaging. The gamma emission of gallium-67 is imaged by a gamma camera, while the positron emission of gallium-68 is imaged by positron emission tomography (PET).
The fragment antigen-binding region is a region on an antibody that binds to antigens. It is composed of one constant and one variable domain of each of the heavy and the light chain. The variable domain contains the paratope, comprising a set of complementarity-determining regions, at the amino terminal end of the monomer. Each arm of the Y thus binds an epitope on the antigen.
Technetium (99mTc) fanolesomab is a mouse monoclonal antibody formerly used to aid in the diagnosis of appendicitis. It is labeled with a radioisotope, technetium-99m (99mTc).
Technetium-99m (99mTc) is a metastable nuclear isomer of technetium-99, symbolized as 99mTc, that is used in tens of millions of medical diagnostic procedures annually, making it the most commonly used medical radioisotope in the world.
Technetium (99mTc) arcitumomab is a drug used for the diagnostic imaging of colorectal cancers, marketed by Immunomedics. It consists of the Fab' fragment of a monoclonal antibody and a radionuclide, technetium-99m.
Technetium (99mTc) nofetumomab merpentan is a mouse monoclonal antibody derivative used in the diagnosis of lung cancer, gastrointestinal, breast, ovary, pancreas, kidney, cervix, and bladder carcinoma. The antibody part, nofetumomab, is attached to the chelator merpentan, which links it to the radioisotope technetium-99m (99mTc).
Technetium (99mTc) medronic acid is a pharmaceutical product used in nuclear medicine to localize bone metastases as well as other diseases that can alter the natural turn-over in the bone by bone scintigraphy.
Technetium 99mTc albumin aggregated (99mTc-MAA) is an injectable radiopharmaceutical used in nuclear medicine. It consists of a sterile aqueous suspension of Technetium-99m (99mTc) labeled to human albumin aggregate particles. It is commonly used for lung perfusion scanning. It is also less commonly used to visualise a peritoneovenous shunt and for isotope venography.
Cholescintigraphy or hepatobiliary scintigraphy is scintigraphy of the hepatobiliary tract, including the gallbladder and bile ducts. The image produced by this type of medical imaging, called a cholescintigram, is also known by other names depending on which radiotracer is used, such as HIDA scan, PIPIDA scan, DISIDA scan, or BrIDA scan. Cholescintigraphic scanning is a nuclear medicine procedure to evaluate the health and function of the gallbladder and biliary system. A radioactive tracer is injected through any accessible vein and then allowed to circulate to the liver, where it is excreted into the bile ducts and stored by the gallbladder until released into the duodenum.
Scintimammography is a type of breast imaging test that is used to detect cancer cells in the breasts of some women who have had abnormal mammograms, or for those who have dense breast tissue, post-operative scar tissue or breast implants.
Perfusion is the passage of fluid through the lymphatic system or blood vessels to an organ or a tissue. The practice of perfusion scanning is the process by which this perfusion can be observed, recorded and quantified. The term perfusion scanning encompasses a wide range of medical imaging modalities.
Technetium (99mTc) exametazime is a radiopharmaceutical sold under the trade name Ceretec, and is used by nuclear medicine physicians for the detection of altered regional cerebral perfusion in stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases. It can also be used for the labelling of leukocytes to localise intra-abdominal infections and inflammatory bowel disease. Exametazime is sometimes referred to as hexamethylpropylene amine oxime or HMPAO, although correct chemical names are:
A DMSA scan is a radionuclide scan that uses dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) in assessing renal morphology, structure and function. Radioactive technetium-99m is combined with DMSA and injected into a patient, followed by imaging with a gamma camera after 2-3 hours. A DMSA scan is usually static imaging, while other radiotracers like DTPA and MAG3 are usually used for dynamic imaging to assess renal excretion.
DMTHF-Tc is a radiopharmaceutical which combines DMTHF, a modified folate, with technetium-99m (99mTc), a gamma emitting radionuclide, in a chelate conjugate. It shows selectivity for certain cancer cells which overexpress FR-α, and can therefore be used for diagnostic imaging in nuclear medicine. DMTHF-Tc was developed by the Philip Low lab at Purdue University.
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