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Advice to help you and your family Understand the purpose of the test and what it involves It is normal to have some fear of the unknown, and this fear can be reduced by understanding the reason the doctor has requested the test. In some cases the test will be to identify a disease, condition or injury that the doctor suspects is present or may be present. In other cases it will…
Health consumers informationRadiation oncology uses radiation (radiation therapy) to treat cancer and other non-malignant diseases. It is a safe and effective treatment for many cancers, with radiation therapy involved in the successful treatment of 40% of all patients cured of cancer worldwide. Radiation Therapy Radiation therapy can be applied to cancers anywhere in the body. It kills…
Health consumers informationWhat is angiography? Angiography is the X-ray imaging of blood vessels using contrast agents injected into the bloodstream through a thin plastic tube (catheter) that is placed directly in the blood vessel. The images taken are called angiograms. Angiography provides information about blood vessel abnormalities, such as narrowing, blockage, inflammation, abnormal widening and bleeding, using a liquid contrast agent (known...
What is nuclear medicine? Nuclear medicine is a medical speciality that involves giving a patient a small amount of radioactive medication, called a radiopharmaceutical. This makes the body slightly radioactive for a short time. A special nuclear medicine camera detects the radiation, which is emitted (released) from the body, and takes images or pictures of how the inside of the...
Interventional radiology is a medical specialisation that involves performing a range of imaging procedures to obtain images of the inside of the body. The interventional radiologist carefully interprets these images to diagnose injury and disease, and to perform a range of interventional medical procedures. Interventional radiologist use imaging techniques…
Health consumers informationWhat is radiation – am I exposed to background radiation each day even if I do not have an X-ray examination? Background radiation – Background radiation refers to the ionising radiation from high energy particles or rays that we are unavoidably exposed to in our daily lives, which gives each of us a small but continuous dose of ionising radiation; Part of background…
What is computed tomography? Computed tomography (CT) is a way of using X-rays to take pictures or images in very fine slices through the part of the body that the doctor has asked to be investigated. One way to think of it is of taking slices through a loaf of bread. When CT scanners were first invented, they took one slice at a time and were quite slow when compared to today’s…
What is a Thyroid Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA)? The thyroid is a soft gland in the front of the neck, in front of the trachea, or ‘windpipe’. It has two lobes (rounded divisions or sections), each about the size of a small egg, joined by a thin bridge of tissue called the ‘isthmus’ of the thyroid. The thyroid gland is...
What is a DMSA scan? DMSA, or dimercaptosuccinic acid, is a radioactive compound (radiopharmaceutical) that when injected into a vein allows images or pictures to be taken of the kidneys. DMSA enters the kidneys and is concentrated in functioning/normal kidney tissue, giving an indication as to how the kidneys are working. It does not provide information as to the internal…
What is a computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA)? Angiography is the X-ray imaging of blood vessels using contrast agents injected into the bloodstream (see Angiography). CTCA uses computed tomography (CT) scanning to take pictures or images (angiograms) of the coronary arteries of the beating heart. These arteries supply blood to the heart muscle, and…
A nuclear medicine thyroid scan uses a radioactive medication (radiopharmaceutical) to take pictures or images of the thyroid gland. The radiopharmaceutical is injected into a vein, usually in the arm, and enters the thyroid gland from the circulating blood. It is detected by a special gamma camera that takes images and provides information about the function and structure of the...
What is an octreotide scan? Nuclear medicine uses radioactive materials to diagnose or treat diseases. An octreotide scan is one that uses radioactive material to detect certain types of cancers arising from the neuro-endocrine systems (this means cancers that relate to the interaction between the nervous system and hormones from the endocrine system – glands that…
What is Iodine-131 therapy? The thyroid gland is one of the body’s regulators, controlling and regulating the metabolism (the process of converting food and oxygen into energy). Sometimes the thyroid is overactive and sometimes it is affected by cancer. In both cases treatment with radioactive iodine (Iodine–131 therapy) may be required. Iodine-131 is given as a capsule that looks much...
What is an MIBG scan? An MIBG scan is a nuclear medicine scan that involves an injection of a radioactive medication (radiopharmaceutical) called iodine-123 meta-iodobenzylguanidine – MIBG for short. The radiopharmaceutical is injected into a vein usually on the inside of the elbow. A special gamma camera (a type of scanner) takes images or pictures to confirm if there are...
What is an MRI enterography or enteroclysis? Entero means small bowel and graphy means image, so enterography is taking images (or pictures) of the small bowel after drinking fluid to make the small bowel stand out on the images. Enteroclysis means a tube has been placed in the small bowel through the stomach. Whether enterography (drinking fluid) or enteroclysis (tube…
What is traumatic vascular injury to the head & neck? Traumatic vascular injuries can be either: A blunt injury to the chest, neck or head, which can result in damage to the blood vessels supplying the brain and can be caused by: forceful compression or pressure from a seat belt during a motor vehicle accident; sudden movements such as bending and extending of the neck…
What is SIRT? Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) is a treatment for liver cancers or tumours that delivers millions of tiny radioactive microspheres or beads called SIR-Spheres® directly to the liver tumours. SIR-Spheres® are about one third the diameter of a strand of hair in size and they release a type of radiation energy called ‘Beta’ radiation.…
What is a nuclear medicine gated blood pool scan? A nuclear medicine (NM) gated blood pool scan is an imaging test which involves labelling the red blood cells in your blood with a radiopharmaceutical and then measuring the amount of blood in the heart during different parts of the heart beat. The images are acquired on a gamma camera. The filling and emptying of the heart…
What is a micturating cysto-urethrogram? A micturating cysto-urethrogram (or MCU) is a study using X-rays that shows the bladder and urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder and out of the body) while passing urine (see children’s X-ray examination). The test is performed to find out if the urine goes from the bladder back up to the kidneys instead of…
What is an MRI scan of the rectum? Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a very strong magnet, and radio waves, to make detailed pictures of organs inside your body. MRI is considered to give the best (clearest) images or pictures of the tissues around the rectum, for identifying the extent of any disease. It makes very accurate pictures of diseases involving the rectum,…
What is a paediatric abdominal ultrasound? A paediatric abdominal ultrasound is an examination of the abdomen with an ultrasound machine that uses sound waves to form images of different organs within the child’s body. The sound waves cannot be heard by the human ear and cannot be felt by the child having the ultrasound study. Abdominal ultrasound studies are most commonly…
What is an X-ray examination? Radiography is the imaging of body structures using X-rays. X-rays are a form of radiation similar to visible light, radio waves, and microwaves. X-radiation is special because it has a very high energy level that allows the X-ray beam to penetrate through the body and create an image or picture. The image is created due to the X-ray beam being…
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