Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty that uses safe, painless, and cost-effective techniques to diagnose, treat, manage, and prevent serious diseases. Nuclear medicine imaging is unique in that it documents organ function and structure, in contrast to diagnostic radiology, which is based upon anatomy. It is a way to gather medical information that may otherwise be unavailable, require surgery, or necessitate more expensive diagnostic tests. Nuclear medicine imaging procedures often identify abnormalities early in the progression of a disease, long before some medical problems are apparent with other diagnostic tests. Early detection may allow for earlier treatment of the disease and increase the potential for a more successful outcome.

We have three cameras available for imaging at San Antonio Regional Hospital: a triple head whole body scanner, a double head cardiac scanner, and a multi-purpose single head scanner. This equipment represents the latest technology for conducting planar and SPECT (single photon emission computerized tomography) imaging.