Conventional nuclear medicine diagnostics (scintigraphy)

This is a localization method for an unclear source of bleeding in acute or intermittent bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.

This examination (antigranulocyte scintigraphy) is used very sensitively to visualize foci of inflammation in the body, e.g. in cases of suspected joint prosthesis infection, vascular prosthesis infection and its extent, bone marrow inflammation (osteomyelitis) or to clarify fever of unknown cause.

In the brain, circulatory disorders or pathological changes such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or epilepsy can be visualized. This makes it possible, for example, to differentiate between Parkinson's disease and multisystem atrophy. In preparation for the examination, it may be necessary to discontinue certain medications after consultation with the treating neurologist.

Scrotal scintigraphy allows the differential diagnosis of testicular torsion (e.g. after trauma) or epididymitis in the case of acute onset of pain and swelling in the scrotum.

This is a nuclear medical examination procedure for imaging the blood-forming bone marrow (hematopoiesis), the localization of bone marrow metastases and bone marrow infarcts.

In nuclear medicine functional examinations of the liver, a distinction is made between liver blood pool scintigraphy (imaging of liver tumors, e.g. hemangioma), functional scintigraphy of the liver (differentiation of liver space requirements; functional testing of the hepatobiliary system, assessment of the bile duct system) and liver perfusion scintigraphy (e.g. in preparation for SIRT therapy and, if necessary, shunt detection).

This nuclear medicine examination allows an image of the cerebrospinal fluid circulation and the detection of cerebrospinal fluid loss (cerebrospinal fluid fistula) through the nose or ears (rhinorrhea or otoliquorrhea). This requires a lumbar puncture by a neurologist and subsequent bed rest, so that this examination is planned under inpatient conditions.

Lung scintigraphy is used to examine the blood flow (perfusion) and ventilation of the lungs non-invasively. This is used, for example, to detect or rule out a pulmonary embolism or is necessary to assess lung function before operations.

Lymphoscintigraphy is used for the sensitive detection of lymph transport disorders (lymphoedema) and the differentiation of swelling of the extremities caused by other causes (e.g. lipoedema of the arm or leg), the detection of lymphatic fistulas or lymphoceles. This examination procedure is also used to plan microsurgical operations (e.g. lymph vessel transplantation) and to monitor their treatment.

Gastric scintigraphy offers the possibility of a quantitative assessment of the gastric emptying time and thus the assessment of gastric function in cases of suspected delays in gastric emptying due to disorders of the innervation of the stomach (e.g. diabetes mellitus), gastric outlet stenosis or also in cases of suspected accelerated gastric emptying. To prepare for this examination, you should have fasted for at least six hours.

It is an imaging procedure for atypically localized (heterotopic) gastric mucosa, especially in the context of clarifying gastrointestinal bleeding in children, for clarifying unclear chronic anemia and unclear gastrointestinal complaints.

Adrenal medulla scintigraphy is used to examine the sympathetic nervous system, primarily to localize a pheochromocytoma, for staging and to prepare for or monitor therapy (MIBG therapy) of a neuroblastoma.

Scintigraphy of the parathyroid glands is performed in cases of suspected hyperparathyroidism with elevated parathyroid hormone levels or in the search for atypically located parathyroid tissue. As a rule, this examination is combined with a supplementary ultrasound examination (sonography) of the anatomically closely adjacent thyroid gland or soft tissues of the neck.

With this functional examination of the kidneys, blood flow, function and excretion are examined in detail; in addition, urinary outflow obstructions or a backflow from the bladder into the kidneys (reflux) can be visualized. The examination is also used to check function after a kidney transplant.

The functional examination of the oesophagus enables the assessment of regional and global transport function in cases of suspected oesophageal strictures or to clarify restricted transport function of the oesophagus in the context of systemic diseases such as myasthenia gravis, scleroderma and lupus erythematosus, in cases of suspected achalasia or gastro-oesophageal reflux. To prepare for this examination, you should have fasted for at least six hours.

Thyroid scintigraphy is the only examination procedure for the topographic visualization of regional iodine metabolism within the thyroid gland. Functionally active thyroid tissue can be assessed visually and quantitatively. For example, the causes of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism can be clarified and the activity of thyroid nodules can be determined. As a rule, this examination is carried out with knowledge of the current thyroid laboratory values and in combination with current thyroid ultrasound findings.

This non-invasive examination is used to clarify functional disorders (e.g. salivary gland stones) of the four major salivary glands by checking their function and drainage conditions.