How A Gamma Camera Works For You

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Hal Anger developed the Anger camera, more widely recognized as the gamma camera, in 1957 and it is still used to this day. The machine uses scintigraphy to analyze the internal organs in the human body, which aids in finding and treating diseases and defects that could otherwise go undetected.

Radiation is commonly used in chemotherapy for cancer patients, but nuclear medicine can also be used to find heart defects, blood disorders, tumors, abdominal problems and brain disorders. All of these issues can be deadly and with the help of this device, lives can be extended and hopefully saved.

In order to produce an image, the patient is required to inhale, ingest or be injected with a small amount of tracer material which emits gamma radiation. The radionuclides travel through the body and into the organs, and then releases energy in the form of gamma rays, or photons, that are emitted by the radioactive substances. The head of the camera contains a large diameter scintillation crystal, and when the photon leaves the patients body and hits the crystal, it gives off a flash of light. The flash of light is picked up by photomultiplier tubes and converts it to an electrical signal, which is then analyzed by a computer to construct an image. This image will indicate where there is a high level of chemical activity by showing where a large amount of radiotracer has accumulated.

Once the images are taken, a trained radiologist will read and explain the images and what they mean to you. Also, the small amount of tracer material that has been introduced will go through a natural process of decay, and will lose it's radioactivity. You should drink plenty of fluids after the procedure to help flush the radioactive material out of your body.

The gamma camera allows a further examination of the human body that extends beyond anatomy and structure alone. With this machine there is a non-invasive way to monitor internal organs, discover possible problems in the early stages, and verify if a patient is responding to the treatment.

About the Author:
BC Technical (http://www.bctechnical.com/) is the leading Molecular Imaging Solution Provider of service, support, refurbished systems and parts for the Nuclear, PET, PET/CT, SPECT, and SPECT/CT market which include gamma camera, gamma camera collimator and nuclear cameras.



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