Specialists in nuclear medicine primarily deal with radioactive imaging and therapy procedures. They are important partners within interdisciplinary teams in order to provide tumor patients with tailored radiotherapy, for example.
Here you will find renowned practices for nuclear medicine in your area as well as further information about this specialist field.
Anyone receiving nuclear medicine therapy is actually undergoing nothing other than radiotherapy - only from the inside. This is because nuclear medicine uses so-called radionuclides for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. These radioactive particles help to detect tumors or metastases.
Nuclear medicine drugs penetrate directly to the diseased cells. With their typical properties, radioactive particles then destroy them using appropriate radiation. The advantage of this is that the healthy tissue is only affected selectively - and not to the same extent as with conventional radiotherapy.
In nuclear medicine, radioactive particles are used for diagnosis or therapy. (Adobe Stock 381969837 ©natali_mis)
The history of nuclear medicine begins around 1938, when radioactive iodine was used for the first time to diagnose thyroid disorders. Four years later, the first treatment option was available with the introduction of iodine-131.
A lot has changed in nuclear medicine since those days, but one thing has remained the same: thyroid diagnostics and therapy still take up an important part of the working hours in nuclear medicine today.
In addition, specialists in nuclear medicine also work in the field of tumor diagnostics and treatment, vascular and cardiac diagnostics and the imaging of bone and dementia diseases. Due to this broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic options, nuclear medicine is a widely networked specialist field with a high degree of interdisciplinarity.
The gamma camera is a diagnostic device used in nuclear medicine. (AdobeStock 279344190 ©Петр Смагин)
Nowadays, nuclear medicine specialists use so-called radioisotopes to specifically target cancer cells in the body. Depending on the application, these radiopharmaceuticals are injected or administered via infusions and then usually move precisely into the cancer cells or, for example, into areas of bone metastases.
The radioisotopes used are usually short emitters, which means that they are only radioactive in a very small area and therefore damage cancer cells but have less of an effect on healthy body cells further away.
This means that radiological treatment methods from nuclear medicine are in some cases also more targeted than, for example, traditional chemotherapy with its systemically administered cytostatic drugs. Less harmful effects of radiopharmaceuticals on healthy body cells also ensure fewer side effects in nuclear medicine, which makes the therapy better tolerated by patients and maintains a certain quality of life despite life-threatening illnesses.
Another innovative field of application for nuclear medicine is three-dimensional imaging using positron emission tomography(PET) or magnetic resonance imaging or computer tomography(MRI + CT). Depending on the indication, the entire human body can be imaged "slice by slice".
Special radio tracers make it possible to radiologically "stain" certain structures and target tissues due to their particular metabolic situations and thus make them even more visible. The images are high-resolution and reveal even the smallest changes.
These new nuclear medicine methods offer great advantages, particularly in the diagnosis of vascular diseases, tumors and dementia. However, these methods are also significantly more expensive than traditional imaging procedures such as X-rays. This is why tomographs are usually found in specialized radiology clinics or treatment centers.
In order to be allowed to work as a specialist in nuclear medicine after studying medicine, a five-year specialist course in nuclear medicine is required. This is completed at the end with the specialist examination.
In addition, the further training regulations for nuclear medicine stipulate a certain minimum number of nuclear medicine examinations and treatments in order to be allowed to use the title of specialist in nuclear medicine. A qualification in radiation protection is also necessary for practicing the profession.
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