How Do Nuclear Medicine Procedures Compare With X-Rays and CT scans?
Nuclear medicine scans detect the radiation coming from a radiopharmaceutical that is inside a patient’s body. In contrast, other imaging procedures (for example, X-ray and CT scan) obtain images by using machines that send radiation through the body. Nuclear medicine is also different from other imaging procedures in that it determines the presence of disease based on biological changes in tissue rather than changes in anatomy. Nuclear medicine procedures are among the safest diagnostic imaging exams available; the amount of radiation received from a nuclear medicine scan is comparable to that of many diagnostic X-ray and CT procedures.
