Nuclear Medicine
The London Clinic has opened a nuclear
medicine imaging facility. This new service in
a dedicated location at 149 Harley Street
complements our existing imaging modalities
and represents another step forward in our
strategic aim of building The London
Clinic Cancer Centre.
Nuclear medicine has applications in many
branches of medicine but is used extensively
in the diagnosis and monitoring of
cancer. Biologically active substances incorporating a minute
amount of a radioactive tracer are either injected or taken orally.
The tracer
material accumulates in biologically active
cells and these cells can be visualised by
image acquisition on a machine called a Gamma
Camera (SPECT) that can detect the
small amounts of radiation emitted. The amount
of radioactivity used in a nuclear
medicine investigation is very low and the
tracer “decays” very quickly and is eliminated
from the body within a few hours.
Nuclear medicine permits clinicians to view
‘functional’ images, providing information about how cancer cells
are behaving, as distinct from anatomical data on tumour size,
shape and density as provided by conventional imaging techniques
such as Computerized Tomography (CT) and Medical Resonance Imaging
(MRI).
The Clinic has installed a Siemens Symbia S™
dual headed gamma camera in the new facility, located in the
spacious accommodation on the ground floor of 149 Harley Street.
This will provide the necessary equipment to offer a wide range of
nuclear medicine investigations.
In addition to supporting the extensive
oncology services provided at The London Clinic, the department
will also provide a full myocardial perfusion scintigraphy service
to assist with the diagnosis and management of coronary artery
disease and a range of nuclear medicine investigations to support
our renowned Endocrinology and Diabetes Centre.
For further information or to book an
appointment for a patient, please contact Janice Davids, Chief
Nuclear Medicine Technologist on 020 7535 5544 or by fax 020
7535 5547.