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Hutchinson New s Sun. Aug. 7 1983 Page IB

NU CLE AR M ED IC IN E c amera is positioned over a

patient by technologist Marjorye Reeves. Nuclear

medicine is a specialty that uses radioactive sub

stances to study the function of major organs and di

agnose the extent of disease.

TECHNOLOGIST LEWIS SCHMIDT views the movement of the heart produced

on a video screen by the nuclear medicine computer. With the acquisition of the

computer in 1982 Hutchinson H ospital has one of the best equipped nuclear car diol

ogy units in the area.

T R C I N G D I S E S E

T O I T S S O U R C E

Your physician orders a tes t for

you in the Nuclear Medicine De

par tmen t . The p rospec t makes

you uneasymaybe even afraid.

Dozens of quest ions race through

your mind.

How does nuclear medicine

work? '

1

'Are radioact ive inject ions

safe? How can they photograph

my l iver without X-rays?

With all the headlines about nu

clear warheads, nuclear power

plants and radiat ion leaks, your

apprehension is understandable.

But nuclear medicine is not some

thing to fear. It is 1) painless; 2)

reliable; and 3) low-risk.

What 's more, you l ive in a com

munity whose hospi tal has a wel l-

establ ished nuclear medicine de

partment with a reputat ion for up-

to-date technology and high s tand

ards.

Hutchinson Hospital also is for

tunate to have a well qualified

physician to direct its nuclear

med ic ine depar tmen t . Dr . Euge ne

Bryant has completed a two-year

fellowship in nuclear medicine,

making him eligible for board cer

tification.

Outside a metropol i tan area,

there are few people who have

completed the educat ion require

ments to be eligible for board cer

tification in nuclear medicine.

Often, nuclear medicine depart

ments are directed by radiologis ts

with a minimum of three to six

months of additional education in

nuclear medicine.

Dr. Bryant is a graduate of the

University of Louisville Medical

School. He did.an internship in in

ternal medicine at Chari ty Hospi

t a l New Orleans, and completed a

pathology residency at the Univer

sity of Illinois in Chicago.

His two-year fellowship in nu

clear medicine also was in Chi

cago, at the Rush-Presbyterian-St .

Luke's Medical Center. Bryant ,

joined Let tner-Shaw Laboratories ,

a group of pathologists and nu-

(

clear medicine specialists based at'

Hutchinson Hospital, in 1982.

Bryant said Hutchinson Hospital

is equipped for any nuclear medi

cine study routinely performed in

the country, and with the acquisi

tion of a sophisticated computer in

9 8 2 the department can do some

of the newer techniques for kidney

and heart s tudies . These s tudies

p rov id e a s imple no n- inva s ive

method to evaluate the function of

these organs.

Steady usage of the department

also enables Hutchinson Hospital

to provide nuclear medicine s tud

i e s a t a r e a s o n a b l e c o s t t o

pat ients .

But what is nuclear medicine,

and how does it work? Here s

some basic information pro-

vided by Dr. Bryant about this

important medical tool

Nuclear medicine is one of sev

eral imaging techniques physicians

use to s tudy pat ients and their

diseases. It involves injecting the

pat ient with a radioact ive pharma

ceutical, then locating or tracing

the compound as i t moves through

the patient's body or is concen

trated in organs or t issues.

This is made possible by sensi

t ive devices cal led gamma cameras

that detect the gamma rays (invis

ible radiation) given off by the

pharmaceut ical . The gamma cam

era converts radiat ion into images

that can be translated onto film or

displayed as a movie on a video

screen.

Nuclear medicine is used to

study many organs and body func

tions. It is most widely used for

studies of the brain, thyroid, lung,

heart l iver, bone and kidneys.

Only t race amounts of radio

active materials are used for nu

clear medicine injections, so the

exposure to radiation is low, and

the pat ient runs no heal th risk

from the radiat ion. Technet ium,

one of the most widely used radio

isotopes, is even safe for diagnos

tic use with children.

Bryant said the drugs lose most

of their radioactivity in a few

hours or days, and the majori ty

are usually eliminated from the

body quickly.

The Hutchinson Hospi tal depart

ment also is carefully controlled so

that facilities, equipment and ma

terials meet s t rict safety s tand

a r d s .

A l l p e r s o n n e l a r e

experienced, highly t rained and

safety conscious.

Nuclear medicine s tudies give

physicians a tool to evaluate medi

cal problems that are often diffi

cul t to detect by other means. In

addition, they provide functional

information about the various or

gans s tudied.

Bryant said nuclear medicine

studies can be performed on al

most anyone, including pat ients

who are too ill to tolerate conven

t i o n a l X - r a y p r o c e d u r e s o r

pat ients who are unable to remain

still for C.T. scans.

Equipment can also be taken to

the bedside of pat ients . This as

sures that advanced nuclear s tud

ies are available to those who may

need them the most .

STUDYING a l iver scan is Dr. Eugene Bryant di

rector of the Nuclear Medicine Department at Hutch

inson Hospital. Bryant has completed a two-year

fellowship in nuclear medicine in addition to other

medical studies.

F R O M

C A P S U L E S

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