Nuclear Radiation Thyroid Scan

The test is necessary to detect a number of conditions including hyperthyroidism goiter and thyroid cancerthe test requires a patient to ingest a small amount of radioactive iodine many hours before testing.

Nuclear meaning in history what was the impact of cold war. This treatment can be used to ablate destroy any thyroid tissue not removed by surgery or to treat some types of thyroid cancer that have spread to lymph nodes and other parts of the body. A nuclear thyroid scan is a simple painless diagnostic procedure to check for various thyroid problemsa doctor may suggest getting a scan if a patient has a noticeable lump in the neck chronic pain or symptoms of an over or under active thyroid glandthe procedure involves taking a very small dose of radioactive iodine specifically the isotope iodine 123 and allowing the material time. A nuclear medicine thyroid scan is a diagnostic tool used to determine a patients thyroid function.

A thyroid scan is an outpatient procedure usually done in the nuclear medicine section of a hospital. If you have a thyroid scan you will be asked to take a drink or swallow a pill containing the iodine. This is usually part of the radiology department.

A nuclear medicine thyroid scan uses a radioactive medication radiopharmaceutical to take pictures or images of the thyroid gland. Typically the scan works with nuclear medicine to evaluate the way your thyroid functions. A thyroid scan is usually ordered when a physical examination or laboratory finding suggests that the thyroid is enlarged or has a lump called a thyroid nodule.

The radioactive iodine uptake test raiu is also known as a thyroid uptake. The radiopharmaceutical is injected into a vein usually in the arm and enters the thyroid gland from the circulating blood. A thyroid scan is a type of nuclear medicine imaging.

Nuclear medicine scans are generally safe and have been around in some form for about 50 years. The radiation dose that you get is usually very low and doesnt pose serious health risks. The radiation dose used here is much stronger than the one used in radioiodine scans which are described in tests for thyroid cancer.

If laboratory tests show an overactive thyroid a radioactive iodine uptake test may be ordered at the same time to evaluate thyroid function. Due to its mode of beta decay iodine 131 is notable for causing mutation and death in cells that it penetrates and other cells up to several millimeters away. It is a measurement of thyroid function but does not involve imaging.

The procedure only takes minutes and causes little to no discomfort to the patient.