ETMC Carthage adds nuclear medicine camera

CARTHAGE, Texas - How would your physician know if your gall bladder wasn't working properly? Or your thyroid-or any of a number of other internal organs? He or she might decide to order a nuclear medicine study at ETMC Carthage, where patients now have access to the Philips Forte nuclear medicine gamma camera, touted as a brand new system with the newest software.

The new technology was recently installed at ETMC Carthage, according to Joel Culver, CNMT, a certified nuclear medicine technologist at the hospital.

"Nuclear medicine enhances the other modalities in radiology, such as X-ray and MRI. It not only can look at the anatomy of an organ in the body, but it also tests its functionality-whether it's working properly or not," he said.

ETMC Carthage Cardiologist Iraj Roshan, MD., noted the new cameras have many applications related to the diagnosis of heart problems. "Through nuclear medicine studies, we can see the size of your heart, the squeezing function of your heart, and the areas that are not getting enough blood. Important to our patient's comfort, the time spent lying down for the studies has been cut by almost 50 percent compared to the camera we used to have," he said.

And, for patients with suspected gall bladder ailments, nuclear medicine is used to determine if the gall bladder is working properly or if it is functioning at an abnormal level. It is a way to gather medical information that would otherwise be unavailable, require surgery, or necessitate more expensive diagnostic tests.

Patients undergoing nuclear medicine studies are given medicine containing very small amounts of radioactive materials, also known as radiopharmaceuticals, in preparation for the test, explained ETMC Carthage Radiologist Ramanadham Kilaru, MD.

"During the nuclear medicine study, the gamma camera detects these radiopharmaceuticals and these images are sent to a computer to provide very precise pictures about the area of the body being imaged.

The amount of radiation in a typical nuclear imaging procedure is comparable or even less than that received during a diagnostic x-ray."

The average scan now takes approximately 30 minutes, depending on the type of scan ordered, Culver said.

"This is a dual head camera, which will run twice as fast as the camera we used to have." The new camera is a $385,000 investment in the hospital's services.

ETMC Carthage is part of the East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System's network of hospitals throughout East Texas. Other ETMC facilities include hospitals in Athens, Clarksville, Crockett, Fairfield, Gilmer, Jacksonville, Mt. Vernon, Pittsburg, Quitman, Trinity and Tyler. ETMC is a not-for-profit organization committed to improving the quality of life in communities throughout East Texas.

Posted 5/2/07