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Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear Medicine is the medical use of radioactive materials (radionuclides). Most often, radioactivity is used to show the presence and extent of a disease or condition in order to help with diagnosis and treatment. Less often, radioactivity is used for treatment e.g. radioactive iodine for the treatment of thyroid diseases.

We carry out Nuclear Medicine tests and treatments only at the request of family physicians or medical specialists.

Radioactive materials have been used in this way for more than forty years. Many conditions and diseases are investigated by Nuclear Medicine techniques. Some are serious, some not so serious.

Very small quantities of radioactivity are used in diagnostic tests. The tests are like the familiar x-ray procedures and usually involve obtaining pictures (scans) of the affected part of the body.