What is nuclear medicine diagnostics?

Nuclear medicine encompasses the medical application of radiopharmaceuticals in diagnostics, therapy and science. The Clinic and Polyclinic for nuclear medicine offers outpatients and inpatients at the University Hospital of Munich the entire spectrum of modern nuclear medicine examination and treatment methods, including pediatric nuclear medicine, and is the largest facility of its kind in Germany.

The diagnostic camera systems used in nuclear medicine are generally characterized by a very open design, so that the examinations are well tolerated even without an "oppressive feeling".

The hybrid procedures generally used today, such as SPECT/CT or PET/CT, combine the respective advantages and results of the different imaging procedures, so that the high anatomical resolution of computed tomography (CT) is combined with the high specific information of nuclear medicine procedures (scintigraphy, SPECT, PET) for the benefit of patients. However, a lack of knowledge about radioactive radiation and its use in medicine often leads to unfounded fears among patients. They usually notice nothing more about the examination than the puncture of their vein, comparable to a blood sample. The radiation exposure of nuclear medicine examination procedures is generally low due to the very small quantities of radioactive substances used, as these decay quickly and are also rapidly excreted.

Clinical nuclear medicine offers a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic options in areas such as oncology (e.g. malignant tumor diseases, sentinel lymph node diagnostics, pain therapy for bone metastases), neurology (e.g. brain diseases, Parkinson's or Alzheimer's diseases) and cardiology (e.g. cardiac perfusion and infarction diagnostics). diseases of the brain, Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease) and in cardiology (e.g. cardiac perfusion and infarction diagnostics); in addition, modern medical research is often based on nuclear medicine detection methods and findings.

For the diagnosis of diseases, nuclear medicine enables imaging procedures that allow the function, blood flow and metabolism of organs to be visualized; physiological and biochemical processes in the organism are therefore painlessly visualized and assessed. Thanks to a large number of specific, low-level radioactive drugs, it is often possible in nuclear medicine to detect the sources or causes of diseases in the body earlier than with other methods, and radiopharmaceuticals can also be used very specifically for therapeutic purposes due to their specific enrichment mechanisms. In addition to benign and malignant thyroid diseases, pain therapy for skeletal metastases, joint therapy (radiosynoviorthesis, e.g. for rheumatic diseases), the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors and, in particular, SIRT treatment of liver metastases are established at our clinic. These nuclear medicine therapy options are often planned on an interdisciplinary basis in close cooperation with other specialist disciplines (including oncologists, endocrinologists, gynecologists, surgeons, orthopedists), for example as part of the "Comprehensive Cancer Center" (CCC) or the Breast Center.

In addition to the implementation of internal quality assurance measures (standardized work instructions, regular internal process analyses), the nuclear medicine examinations and therapy procedures carried out in our clinic are regularly assessed by the Medical Board of the Bavarian Medical Association. In addition, the responsible senior physicians are certified by the German Society of nuclear medicine to carry out PET examinations.

Competent specialists, responsible medical-technical assistants and the friendly and helpful nursing staff will do their utmost to make your upcoming examination or inpatient stay with us as pleasant as possible.

If you would like to find out in advance about the procedure planned for you, the information listed here, which focuses on examinations frequently carried out in our nuclear medicine department, should be helpful. Please bear in mind that this cannot replace a personal consultation with a doctor; we are therefore happy to answer any further questions you may have in person.