At Amber Diagnostics, we are mainly known for our MRI machines, our Computed Tomography systems, C-Arms, PET/CT scanners, X-Rays, and Mammography machines. However, we also sell Ancillary Items, including DR and CR’s and Printers, as well as Nuclear Cameras (sometimes called Gamma Cameras.)
But what exactly does a Nuclear Camera do?
A Nuclear Camera is a widely used imaging technique that takes scans of the brain, thyroid, liver and gallbladder, lungs, kidneys, and skeleton. A patient takes a radiopharmaceutical either intravenously or orally, and the Nuclear Camera is then able to detect and create images from the small amounts of ionizing radiation that emit from patients during a nuclear medicine study.
Here are different kinds of imaging techniques that nuclear cameras are able to carry out:
- Scintigraphy (“skint”): uses Nuclear Cameras to capture emitted radiation from internal radioisotopes to create two-dimensional images.
- SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) imaging: used in nuclear cardiac stress testing. Usually one, two, or three detectors or heads are slowly rotated around the patient’s torso.
- Positron emission tomography (PET): For multi-headed Nuclear Cameras only, hardware and software must be configured to detect “coincidences,” which are near simultaneous events on 2 different heads. PET imaging is better with a PET scanner itself, but Nuclear Cameras offer a lower cost option and a more flexible one at that.
You may think that Nuclear Cameras sound similar to other X-Ray imaging techniques, but Nuclear Cameras map the function and processes of the body, rather than anatomy and structure like X-Rays do.
Nuclear Cameras are a vital part of the radiology industry, and there is so much more to them and nuclear medicine in general. Our Amber sales professionals would be happy to speak with you about them more in depth, and you can contact them here.
