Facilities & equipment
The equipment required by Nuclear Medicine is necessarily sophisticated, diverse and of course expensive. These range from tungsten syringe-shields costing a few hundred dollars to the Gamma Cameras costing around eight hundred thousand dollars. To determine the dosage of radiopharmaceutical to be administered, radioisotope calibrators are used.
All Nuclear Medicine Departments have, as an integral part of their operation, one or more Gamma Cameras. These Gamma Cameras may be single-headed (one detector) or multi-headed (two to four detectors). The detectors consist of large, shielded and collimated, sodium-iodide crystals. These crystals act as a transducer changing the energy of the absorbed gamma ray (emitted from the patient), into ultra-violet light. The ultra-violet light in turn is directed through a photo-multiplier tube array where a transformation into measurable electronic signals occurs. Positioning circuits and associated electronics produce a digitised image for subsequent manipulation.
At Austin Health, the department has four General Electric Gamma Cameras, a 400ACT, XRT, Optima and Maxxus, and two Marconi Gamma Cameras, the Axis and Irix which represent state-of-the-art technology. The cameras are evenly distributed across both campuses. Each campus can provide a full Nuclear Medicine service. However, and in response to changing Medical Centre priorities, the workload and work type varies between the two campuses. For example, the acute, in-patient services are provided at Austin Campus whereas certain out-patient are provided at Repatriation Campus.
Recent refurbishment at the Austin Hospital, resulted in an upgrade of the three camera rooms, a centralised technologist control area, new reception and patient waiting room. Lead-lined plasterboard has been installed in all critical areas. Lead-glass windows between the control area and scanning rooms provides added protection and blinds ensure the privacy of the patients is maintained.
The Department boasts comprehensive "Hot" and "Cold" Laboratories and manufactures many of the pharmaceuticals used routinely, in-house. A Technetium Generator is received weekly and provides adequate technetium supply for both hospital sites.
The eluted technetium is dispensed and mixed with the desired pharmaceutical and after appropriate quality control procedures are performed, is released for use.
The gamma cameras undergo a series of quality control procedures to maintain their peak efficiency. A large range of quality assurance tools are available to facilitate this.
The science behind Nuclear Medicine
Radionuclides used within Nuclear Medicine include the radioisotopes of iodine, gallium, thallium and technetium, amongst others. The physical characteristics of each are different and the selection of a particular radionuclide relates directly with its intended clinical use, that is, whether a diagnostic or therapeutic result is desired. The following table lists the most commonly used radionuclides.
