Interpreting Nuclear Medicine Studies

• Most images are in gray scale and have poor anatomic detail, as seen in the image on the right.
• Radioactive isotopes are injected or ingested, and the patient is scanned.
• Photons hitting the detectors are counted and converted into images.
• Black areas represent higher counts, indicating increased radiotracer uptake or "hot" spots.
• White areas represent lower counts, indicating low uptake or "cold" spots.
• In some studies, (such as PET scans) these images can be combined with standard CT scans to create a "fused" image.

Intro to Bone Scans

• Radiotracer- Technetium 99m MDP.
• "Hot" uptake at sites of active turnover
• Kidneys should be faintly visible. If there is sufficiently strong uptake in the bones, the kidneys will not be seen- this is called a superscan
• Symmetry is your friend!
• Focal uptake in the joints most likely represent degenerative changes.
• If you are not sure- correlate