St. Mary's Hospital - Decatur Services Imaging Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose or treat a variety of diseases, including many types of cancers, heart disease and certain other abnormalities within the body. Nuclear medicine procedures are noninvasive and usually painless medical tests that help physicians diagnose medical conditions.

These imaging scans use radioactive materials called radiopharmaceuticals or radiotracers. Detecting tumors, infections and other disorders, this procedure often produces the most useful information to make a diagnosis. St. Mary's Hospital's Nuclear Medicine Department was the first downstate nuclear medicine department in Illinois.

All Technologists at St. Mary’s hold an additional registry in Nuclear Medicine in addition to being licensed with the State of Illinois.


As a Patient:

 

  • You will be given a tracer (radioactive material). It may be injected, swallowed, or inhaled.

  • Your scan may then be done right away, or you may need to wait a few hours or even days to allow the tracer to concentrate in the part of the body being studied.

  • Your scan may take a few hours. Bring something you can do if you need to wait.

  • You will lie on a narrow imaging table; a large camera is placed close to your body.

  • Remain as still as you can while the camera takes the pictures to ensure the best imaging.

  • After your scan, drink plenty of water to help clear the tracer from your body.


Exams Performed

 

  • PET/CT Scans

  • Heart Scans

  • Bone Scans

  • Bone Marrow Scans

  • Lung Scans

  • Renal Scans

  • Sentinel Node Detection

  • Thyroid Scans/Therapy

  • Hepatobiliary Scans

  • Gastric Emptying


Equipment

 

  • ADAC Vertex Plus MCD Gamma Camera

  • ADAC Cardio Epic Camera

  • Philips – Gemini 16 PET/CT Scanner


Hours

 

  • Monday through Friday - 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

  • A technologist on call to provide services as needed after hours

  • After hours, images are transmitted via teleradiology systems for a preliminary interpretation from a radiologist.

  • Questions? Call us, 217-464-2157.