Nuclear medicine

We generally inject radiotracers into the bloodstream. This lets us see where the radiotracers localise in your body. This gives us information about the function of different cells, tissues and organs. These scans help doctors diagnose a variety of conditions - including cancer. We have two innovative SPECT/CT cameras with quantitative capability. We separate this kind of imaging into two categories: Nuclear medicine, and Positron emission tomography (PET). We usually use both types with a computed tomography (CT) scan. This helps us localise the site of radiotracer accumulation. This then helps doctors select and plan the best treatment for you. The nuclear medicine department also specialises in radionuclide therapy. This treats a variety of cancers.

Process for Nuclear medicine patients

Nuclear medicine referral

Your general practitioner or specialist will organise relevant referrals for nuclear medicine.

Booking a scan

You will speak with a technologist when booking the scan.

Let the technologist know if you have any other procedures booked. This may alter your booking time and pre-scan preparation.

They will also provide you with any relevant preparation instructions.

On the day

Go to the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) at 305 Grattan Street, Melbourne
Go to the front enquiry desk if you would like directions
Otherwise, catch the main lifts to level 5
Go to the Cancer Imaging section at reception 5C

Getting the scan

We will administer the radiotracers.

Sometimes we will be able to perform imaging at once after we administer the radiotracer. This allows us to look at the rapid passage of the tracer through the body.

In other cases, the tracer accumulates in tissues at a slow rate. If this is the case, you might be able to leave the building and return later for scanning. This wait could be for several hours or several days in some cases.

When ready, we will then scan you. This can take between 15 and 90 minutes. The exact time depends on the clinical question we're addressing.

Impacts of scans and radiation

Millions of scans happen around the world each year with very low risk to the patient. All scans involve administering radioactive compounds. The radiation you receive is quite low though. Most of it being about the same as the amount of radiation you receive from the environment over a year.

Types of nuclear medicine tests

We perform these tests the most:

Name of test	Radioactive tracer	Purpose of test
Cardiac gated blood pool scan	Tc-99m labelled red blood cells	Watch heart function in patients having chemotherapy.
Sentinel node scintigraphy	Tc-99m antimony colloid	Find the pathway of lymphatic spread, most performed in breast cancer and melanoma.
Bone scan	Tc-99m MDP	Imaging bone metabolism; enables identification of spread of tumour to bone.
MIBI scan	Tc-99m sestamibi	Most used for imaging multiple myeloma; also used to find parathyroid adenomas.
Thyroid scan	Iodine-123, Tc-99m pertechnetate	Imaging thyroid cancer and thyroid function.
Renal scan	Tc-99m MAG3 or DTPA, Cr-51 EDTA	Measurement and imaging of kidney function.
Lung scan	Tc-99m Technegas/MAA	Used to detect clots in the lung (pulmonary emboli) and to measure lung function.

More information on nuclear medicine test types