Radiating with pride

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jack Sanders
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Members of the 3rd Medical Group Nuclear Medicine flight are working together to provide the best radiological care possible to patients.

Nuclear Medicine is one of the six different sections of Radiology at the Elmendorf Hospital. The others include Computed Axial Tomography Scan more commonly referred to as CAT Scans, Mammography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Ultrasound and X-rays.

Although there are many different fields in Radiology, the separate flights work together to try and bring the best possible care to their patients.

"Everybody in radiology works together," said Master Sgt. Joel Swiderski, 3rd Medical Group radiation safety officer. "It's one team because some people do things better than others. We're not the only ones who can do functional imaging, but the ones that we do, we're the best at."

Nuclear Medicine is a specific branch of radiology that uses radiological medicines to view organs and bones to see how they function.

"Patients start with a normal X-ray and are worked into the other specialties depending on their specific needs," said Tech. Sgt. Brian McClain, 3rd Medical Group NCO in charge of Nuclear Medicine.

Unlike X-rays or ultrasounds, which can take images of organs, Nuclear Medicine watches the organs as they work to better see if they are functioning correctly.

After patients are referred to Nuclear Medicine they can expect to receive an injection.

The radiopharmaceuticals, or radiated medication, are injected into the body and seek out specific body parts, which can then be monitored with Gamma cameras that view body parts working.

People may be worried about the dangers of having radiation injected into their bodies, but the injections aren't harmful.

"The amount of radiation patients get injected into them is less radiation than what they would get if they had a chest X-ray," said Swiderski.

The reason the team at Nuclear Medicine can use such small amounts of radiation is because the camera they use is so sensitive.
"The camera is electronically peaked on that specific emission of that radioisotope," Swiderski said. "They set the camera up to only find those images, and this makes the imaging clearer."

A clear image provided by a highly sensitive machine allows Radiologists to give a better diagnosis and treatment.

"Some patients come to Nuclear Medicine straight from the emergency room. For some tests it's an emergency if they think they have what's called a Pulmonary Embolism, which is fatal, they send them immediately over," said Swiderski.