How is Nuclear Medicine different from Interventional Nuclear Medicine

Posted by Shreya Dey on July 14th, 2021

Interventional Nuclear Medicine Technology:  Interventional radiology can be best described as an invasive surgery that is performed with the aid of radiological imaging. Interventional nuclear medicine employs a similar approach as that of the Nuclear Medicine method. The basic difference between nuclear medicine and interventional Nuclear Medicine is that while the latter employs an anatomical approach by utilizing ultrasound, radiofrequency, and cryotherapy, the former i.e. nuclear medicine imaging uses some aspect of physiology to locate the radiopharmaceutical within the body while using a specialized camera to develop the inner body images.  

Nuclear Medicine: In the procedure of Nuclear Medicine, an extremely trivial amount of radioactive substances are typically injected into the bloodstream, inhaled, or swallowed. These radioactive medications are termed as a radiotracer. They travel through the examined area and substantiate energy needs via gamma rays which are traced by a specialized camera and a computer to develop images of the inner parts of your body. The primary function of Nuclear medicine imaging is to fetch unique information that otherwise cannot be obtained. It also provides the potential to identify disease in its beginning stages.

Apart from the basic differences mentioned above, another way to figure out the difference between interventional vs nuclear medicine, is that radiology i.e. interventional nuclear medicine is designed to check the anatomy (shapes & sizes), while nuclear medicine is designed to see physiology (cells, molecules, chemical interactions, etc.).  If you were ever subjected to a PET scan (nuclear imaging) for prostate cancer, there are high chances that you may have had it “fused” with a CT scan (radiology).  This is so because the PET does a better job at visualizing cancer cells while the CT scan is better at visualizing anatomy such as bones, organs, etc.  Since no medical imaging is 100% perfect, using 2 different techniques together often enhances the exams accuracy.   

At the Centre for Nuclear Medicine, Sarvodaya Hospital, we have the most advanced PET CT scan & Gamma Camera in the entire North India. We are a comprehensive cancer center that is one of its kind in North India and provides affordable PET CT scan services/treatment.