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Nuclear Medicine
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About the Department |
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Nuclear medicine is a clinical medicine that uses radioactive agents to diagnose and treat diseases. The scope of nuclear medicine examination is extensive, including tumor, brain, heart, lung, digestive tract, bone, endocrine, and urinary tract. |
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Diagnosis and Treatment |
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The general examination method of nuclear medicine involves injecting a small amount of radioactive agent by intravenous injection or oral administration. After a period of time, the radioactive agent enters the organ, in which a whole-body scan or tomography can beperformed. Since the entire examination process is not invasive, it is a fairly safe examination. |
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Radioactive agent |
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A radioactive agent is an agent that emits gamma rays. The distribution of radioactive agents can be detected by scanning the whole body for gamma rays released by the radioactive agents using a gamma camera.Diseases can be diagnosed by the distribution of radioactive agents in the body. One of the characteristics of radioactive agents is that they undergo natural decay, and their radioactivity will disappear after a period of time. After the radioactive agent is injected into the body, most of it will be excreted through the kidneys or digestive tract, except for a small part that remains in the body and organs. |
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Gamma Camera |
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A gamma camera is a special device that can scan the whole body and observe the distribution of radioactive agents in the body.The scanning methods of gamma cameras include whole-body scanning, tomography scanning, and dynamic scanning. The general scanning time is approximately 20-30 minutes. Further, physicians at the Department of Nuclear Medicine interpret the diagnosis based on the scans. |
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Clinical Use of Nuclear Medicine |
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- Bone Scan isused to detect cancer cells metastasizing to the bone.Breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma are malignant tumors prone to skeletal metastasis. A whole-body skeletal scan can be used to detect whether cancer cells lead to skeletal metastasis. In addition, other benign skeletal lesions, such as osteomyelitis, bone necrosis, arthritis, and fractures, can also be diagnosed by bone scans.
- Cardiac scan ismainly used to detect ischemic heart diseases, such as Angina pectoris and Myocardial infarction.
- Renal scan detects whether there is any abnormal renal function, renal edema, or renal hypertension.
- Digestive tract scan detects gastrointestinal bleeding, abnormal esophageal peristalsis, abnormal gastric emptying, and other lesions.
- Endocrine scan detects lesions in the thyroid, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, and others.
- Thyroid cancer scan and treatment use low-dose iodine-131 to detect residual thyroid tissue and metastatic lesions after surgery.Noteworthily, high doses of iodine-131 can be used to eliminate residual thyroid tissue or metastatic lesions, or cancer cells.
- Inflammation scan detects the location of the inflammatory lesionsin the whole body.
- Head Scan detects lesions, such as brain tumors, stroke, epilepsy, dementia, and others.
- Tumor scan is mainly used to detect tumor locations, distinguish benign or malignant tumors, diagnose tumor recurrence, and others.
- Other scans include liver, lung, and salivary gland scans.
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Positron Emission Tomography |
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The PET positron scanner is a precision instrument composed of a special ring crystal and a complex electronic circuit system. Its main function is to collect the distribution of fluorodeoxyglucose(FDG) throughout the body. PET can be combined with CT (computer store scanner) to locate the anatomical position.Traces of cancer can be found through whole-body scanning, providing an important basis for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The main uses of PET-CT scans in cancer include providing information on cancer staging, detecting metastatic lesions, differentiating recurrent or necrotic tissues, evaluating treatment outcomes, and identifying the location of recurrent tumors when the tumor marker index elevates. Clinical statistics show that more than 30% of patients have changed their treatment methods and results because of the PET-CT scan, which is significantly beneficial to patients with cancer.
Furthermore, our hospital has recently introduced a new generation of positron computed tomography scanners (the Simens Biography Horizon model), which can accurately assess cancer with an accuracy rate of over 90%, significantly higher than other models.
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 Dr. Dong-ling Yu |
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 Education: |
Department of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University |
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Experiences: |
Resident physician, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
Attending physician, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
Head, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Koo Foundation Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center
Head, Department of Medical Affairs, Mennonite Christian Hospital |
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Specialties: |
General nuclear medicine, Nuclear cardiology, Nuclear oncology, PET scan, Thyroid cancer treatment |
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Publications: |
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