Virtual tour | Nuclear medicine
Summary
TLDRKatie, a radiographer, introduces a hybrid SPECT/CT gamma camera used for cardiac stress imaging to assess blood flow in the heart. The camera captures radiation from a radioactive isotope injected into the patient, while the CT scanner provides anatomical details. The process involves monitoring the patient's heartbeat and creating a 3D reconstruction of the heart's contraction. Katie also explains the safety measures taken to minimize radiation exposure for both patients and staff.
Takeaways
- 🏥 Katie introduces herself as a radiographer and welcomes the viewer to the nuclear medicine department.
- 📈 The hybrid SPECT CT gamma camera is used for cardiac and stress imaging to examine blood flow to the heart muscle.
- 🔍 The gamma camera detects radiation from a radioactive isotope given to patients an hour before the scan.
- 📎 The CT scanner provides anatomical information to enhance the SPECT image of the heart.
- 🛏️ Patients lie on a table during the scan with ECG leads attached to monitor their heart rate.
- 💓 The scan measures the length of each heartbeat and creates a 3D reconstruction of the heart's contraction.
- 📊 Real-time images of the heart are displayed on a screen for both the patient and the medical staff to observe.
- 💉 Patients are injected with a radioactive isotope, which circulates in the body and is absorbed by the heart muscle.
- 🧪 The radioisotope lab is where radioactive isotopes are prepared and stored for injection into patients.
- 🛡️ Radiographers are closely monitored for radiation exposure with finger and whole-body dosimeters.
- 💉 Shielding and safety measures are taken when handling radioactive isotopes to minimize radiation exposure.
Q & A
What is the primary purpose of the hybrid SPECT CT gamma camera?
-The primary purpose of the hybrid SPECT CT gamma camera is to perform cardiac stress imaging to observe the blood flow to the heart muscle under stress and resting conditions.
How does the gamma camera part of the SPECT CT system work?
-The gamma camera part, which consists of two scanners at the front, picks up radiation from the radioactive material given to the patient an hour prior to the scan, collecting information emitted from the patient.
What role does the CT scanner play in the hybrid SPECT CT system?
-The CT scanner, resembling a giant donut at the back, provides anatomical information that helps enhance the SPECT image of the heart.
What is the purpose of the ECG leads attached to the patient during the scan?
-The ECG leads are used to monitor the patient's heart rate during the scan, allowing the scan to measure the length of each heartbeat.
How does the scan create a 3D reconstruction of the heart?
-The scan breaks down the heartbeats into sections and creates a 3D reconstruction, which allows for the observation of how the heart is contracting.
What is the typical timing for injecting the radioactive isotope into the patient?
-The radioactive isotope is injected into the patient an hour prior to imaging to allow time for it to circulate and absorb into the heart muscle.
What part of the heart does the radioactive injection highlight in the images?
-The radioactive injection highlights the left ventricle of the heart in the images.
What is the purpose of the radioisotope lab mentioned in the script?
-The radioisotope lab is where radioactive isotopes are prepared for injection into patients and where sealed sources for quality control checks on calibrators and the gamma camera are stored.
How is the staff's radiation exposure monitored?
-Staff members are closely monitored for radiation exposure through the use of finger dose rings and whole body dosimeters, which are changed every two months and provide a yearly total of exposure.
What safety measures are taken when handling radioactive isotopes?
-Safety measures include using lead-shielded vials and syringes, tongs to maximize distance from radiation, and a lead glass screen to protect from high doses during the drawing up process.
How is the radioactive contamination checked before staff members touch other objects?
-A mini scintillation monitor is used to check for radioactive contamination on hands before touching other objects, with counts per second indicating background radiation or contamination levels.
Outlines
🏥 Introduction to Nuclear Medicine and Equipment
Katie, a radiographer, welcomes viewers to the nuclear medicine department, specifically focusing on cardiac stress imaging. She introduces the hybrid SPECT CT gamma camera used for examining blood flow to the heart muscle under stress and resting conditions. The gamma camera captures radiation from radioactive isotopes given to patients, while the CT scanner provides anatomical information to enhance the SPECT image. Katie explains the process of attaching ECG leads to monitor the patient's heart rate during the scan, which is later used to create a 3D reconstruction of the heart's contraction. The images are displayed in real-time for both the medical staff and the patient to observe.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Radiographers
💡Nuclear Medicine
💡Hybrid SPECT/CT Gamma Camera
💡Cardiac Stress Imaging
💡Gamma Camera
💡ECG Leads
💡3D Reconstruction
💡Radioactive Isotope
💡Myocardium
💡Dose Calibrator
💡Radiation Safety
Highlights
Introduction to nuclear medicine and hybrid SPECT/CT gamma camera
Explanation of cardiac stress imaging to assess blood flow to the heart muscle
Description of the gamma camera's role in detecting radiation from patients
Details on the CT scanner's contribution to providing anatomical information
Process of attaching ECG leads to monitor heart rate during scans
How the scan measures heartbeats and creates 3D reconstructions
Real-time display of images on the screen for both staff and patients
Timing of radioactive isotope injection relative to imaging
Visualization of the left ventricle using radioactive injections
Importance of gating on the scanner for measuring heartbeats
Introduction to the radioisotope lab where isotopes are prepared
Storage of sealed sources for quality control on calibrators and gamma camera
Demonstration of drawing up radioactive isotope
Explanation of radiation exposure monitoring for staff
Use of finger and whole body dosimeters to track radiation exposure
Procedure for drawing up isotopes with lead shielding to protect staff
Measurement of isotope activity in a dose calibrator
Ensuring the correct dose of isotope based on patient weight
Use of tongs and lead shielding to handle isotopes safely
Checking for contamination with a mini scintillation monitor
Explanation of radiation detection levels with the scintillation monitor
Transcripts
Hi. My name's Katie. I'm one of the radiographers. Welcome to nuclear medicine.
This is our hybrid spec ct gamma camera and this is where we do mainly cardiac
stress imaging to have a look at the blood flow to the heart muscle under stress and under resting
conditions. As you can see here we have the gamma camera part which is these two scanners at the
front so this will pick up the radiation that we give to the patient an hour prior to their scan
so it's collecting information coming off them and at the end at the back with a bit that looks like
the giant donut is our ct scanner and that gives us anatomical information and it helps enhance
the spect image of the heart before. As we do the scan our patient will be laying on the table here
and we attach four little ecg leads and this basically monitors the patient's
heart rate whilst we're doing the scan so our scan basically can measure the length of each heartbeat
and then when we do the reconstruction of the images later it breaks all of the heartbeats
down into little sections and then it creates a 3d reconstruction allowing us to look at how
the heart is contracting. The images are displayed on the screen here so we can see it in real-time
and the patient can also watch it as we're doing their scan. Normally the patient is injected with
a radioactive isotope an hour prior to the imaging because it needs an hour for it to
circulate round into the body and absorb into the heart muscle and allow us to see the images.
So what you're seeing here is the basically the left ventricle
so the radioactive injection that we give gets taken up within the myocardium
and this is showing you the left ventricle as if it was squashed flat so this is the apex
of the heart and then this is the lateral side and this would be the right side of the heart
and with as through the gating on the scanner those heartbeats that it's measuring allows us
to get a real-time image of how the heart has been contracting through the scan.
So this is our radio radioisotope lab. This is where we draw up all of the radioactive
isotopes that we inject into the patients. We also store all our sealed sources which are used to do
controller quality control on our calibrators and the gamma camera and if you follow me we're
going to go and have a look at the screen and you'll see me draw up some radar isotope.
So as staff members, we're all monitored very closely for our radiation exposure.
I have a ring underneath my glove that basically picks up the finger dose that i'm getting
and i also have a whole body dosimeter which measures the dose i get to my body
and these are changed every two months and we get a yearly total of what we've been exposed to.
So this is a radio isotope pot. So they just come in a little, small glass vials.
The radio active isotope is just a clear, scentless liquid. You wouldn't know any different to water really,
but these are all quite heavy. They're lead shielded to protect our fingers
and contain everything with inside
and then our syringe should have a syringe shield with about 6mm of lead around them
and this again reduces our finger dose when we are injecting our patients.
So to draw up, we would just, hold it in the pot, and draw.
Our injections are very small.
They're approximately one mil in volume, sometimes smaller,
and then once this has been drawn up, it goes into a dose calibrator where we measure exactly how much
activity has been measured up
and then we are ensuring that the dose we have drawn up is suitable based on the patient's weight
and it's within their recommended range for the dose levels for our investigations.
So it's important when we handle the isotopes that we use tongs to basically maximize the
distance for the radiation away from our hands until it's back into its shielded cover
and this glass screen in front of me is also made of thick lead so this protects any high dose that
I may get from drawing up. Once completely drawn up we should always monitor our hands
to make sure that there's no contamination on them before we go and touch something else
so we have a monitor right here which is called a mini scintillation monitor
and it will make a little clicking sound as i turn it on
and then we can put our hands in front of it to make sure that it's not detecting anything.
So on here it measures in counts per second so anywhere between 10 and 20 counts per second is
like background radiation and anything above that would be radioactive or contaminated.
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