Scintigraphy Division

Follow services are provided by the scintigrapgy division of NINMAS.

 Central Nervous System Imaging:
Planar brain imaging employing 99mTc pertechnetate or 99mTc DTPA or glucoheptonate is still very cost effective alternatives to the very expensive MRI and CT. Planar imaging is useful to confirming clinical diagnosis of brain death. SPECT brain perfusion imaging with either HMPAO and/or ECD is relatively expensive procedures but are the choice of investigations to map the brain perfusion in both normal and pathological brain tissue as well as functional neuro-abnormalities. The SPECT brain perfusion has been done in cerebrovascular disease, brain tumor, Epilepsy, Dementia, Cerebellar Diaschisis, head injury, substance abuse neuropsychiatric disorders and behavioral dysfunctions. Cisternography is done occasionally following special requests from the neurologist or neurosurgeon for evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), CSF leak evaluation and verification of diversionary shunt patency.

 Gastrointestinal Tract Scintigraphy:
Radiocolloid liver imaging is useful to reveal functional abnormalities in focal and diffuse liver disease, specially liver cirrhosis, metabolic disease, primary liver neoplasm etc.
Hepatobiliary imaging is commonly done for the evaluation of acute and chronic biliary disease. In neonates differentiation of biliary atresia from neonatal hepatitis is most commonly performed study. Hepatobiliary scanning is also done in acute cholecystitis, biliray patency evaluation, identification of biliary leak, post-cholecystectomy syndrome and gall bladder ejection fraction.

Gastrointesinal tract imaging includes the assessment of gastro-oesophageal function, gastro-intestinal bleeding, Meckel's diverticulum study, gastric emptying, and oesophageal transit and gastro-oesophageal reflux study.

 Imaging of Skeletal System:
This investigation forms a considerable bulk of routine nuclear medicine procedures and is one of the most useful one. It is especially remarkable for its high sensitivity in earlier detection of bone metastasis or bone lesions than radiographic changes. Skeletal imaging is done for detection of metastasis or follow up, differentiation between osteomyelitis and cellulitis, bone viability or avascular necrosis detection, stress fracture, prosthesis evaluation and biopsy site selection.

 Scanning of Respiratory system: Radionuclide scanning of the respiratory system includes perfusion and ventilation lung imaging. Perfusion scans are done with 99m Tc – MAA.

 Lymphoscinitgraphy:
Scintigraphy of the lymphatic system is done with 99mTc labeled nanocolloids. This test is done in patients with upper, lower extremity oedema to exclude lymphatic obstruction from other causes of limb swelling. In head neck carcinoma to exclude lymphatic obstruction from other causes of swelling.

 Other miscellaneous studies: In addition to the above-specified tests there are many other nuclear medicine procedures, which are done at scintigraphy division of NINMAS. These include salivary gland imaging and parathyroid imaging.

Bone Mineral Densitometry (BMD): Another most important diagnostic service of NINMAS is Bone Mineral Densitometry (BMD), which gives detail information about the degeneration of bone related to age and other pathological cause.