Nuclear Medicine Division
The Nuclear Medicine Division provides most
of the diagnostic studies currently used in the
field. Routine tests include imaging of the brain,
cerebrospinal fluid, thyroid, parathyroid, lung
(ventilation and perfusion), liver, biliary system,
kidneys, gastrointestinal bleeding, testicular
torsion, infection, patency of CSF shunts, Levine
shunts, lymphatic system and adrenal glands. The
division also offers gastrointestinal function
testing for gastroesophageal reflux, gastric emptying
of both solid and liquid meals, esophageal transit
time, and gallbladder ejection fraction.
Cardiac Studies
Nuclear Medicine has a Comprehensive Cardiac Program
which performs all types of cardiac studies, such
as quantitative thallium scans and gated blood
pool scans to determine cardiac ejection fraction
and wall motion. The division has had extensive
experience using Persantine, along with thallium
imaging, for detecting coronary artery disease.
Other Services
The laboratory also provides measurements of red
cell mass, plasma volume, red cell survival (including
ferrokinetics), Schillings tests, thyroid uptake,
and global renal function evaluation (including
glomerular filtration rate).
Iodine-131 therapy for hyperthyroidism and thyroid
carcinoma, as well as phosphorus-32 therapy for
polycythemia vera, are provided routinely.
Advanced SPECT Imaging
The division has acquired an advanced spectroscopy
(SPECT) imaging instrument that provides detailed
scans of the brain, heart, bones, and other organs.
Various neuropsychiatric disorders, including
Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, stroke,
head trauma, seizures, depression, schizophrenia,
and drug and alcohol addiction, can be effectively
evaluated with this imaging technique. This brain-imaging
expertise is unique to the Nuclear Medicine Division
of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Cardiac disorders, including coronary artery
diseases, can be more successfully diagnosed with
this instrument than with conventional SPECT machines.
This instrument is also helpful in the investigation
of orthopaedic problems, such as disorders of
the spine and knee.
PET
The Nuclear Medicine Division has access to positron
emission tomography (PET) and the related techniques
for the evaluation of cardiac disorders and cancer.
This technique is especially useful for grading
the degree of malignancy, response to therapy,
and detection of tumor recurrence.
Division Chief
Chaitanya R. Divgi, MD
Address
Nuclear Medicine Division
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
3 Donner
3400 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
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