Nuclear medicine is the medical specialty concerned with the use of small amounts of radioactive materials for diagnostic, therapeutic and research purposes. It is a vigorous, dynamic field that has grown phenomenally over the past several years and is expected to continue growing.

Nuclear medicine procedures use radioactive materials to perform body function studies and organ imaging; analyze biologic specimens; and treat disease.

Organ imaging requires an intravenous injection, oral administration, or inhalation of radioactive materials (called radiopharmaceuticals), which localize and concentrate in a specific organ or organ system of the body. Instruments called scanners or scintillation cameras detect the radiation emitted by the radiopharmaceutical to produce an image, and measure the function of the organ. The patient experiences little or no discomfort and the radiation dose is small.

Radioactive analyses of biologic specimens are accurate and sensitive. Blood, urine, or other specimens collected from the patient are combined with radioactive materials to measure the level of components such as hormones, drugs, or other chemical substances. Sample collection is simple and painless, and because the radioactive material is added to the specimen outside the body, the patient is not exposed to radiation.

Therapeutic doses of radioactive materials can be administered to patients to treat a specific disease. Although not used as frequently as diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures, treatment of disease with radiopharmaceuticals is a valuable contribution to patient care.

The NMT option at OIT is the only nuclear medicine program in Oregon, and one of only thirty bachelor of science in nuclear medicine programs in the country.

Career Opportunities
The NMT provides unique information and valuable assistance to the nuclear medicine physician in making a diagnosis and determining the proper therapeutic treatment of a specific disease. Under the supervision of a physician, the NMT also directs or participates in the daily operation of the nuclear medicine department and works closely with other health professionals.

The responsibilities of an NMT are varied and can include performing radiation safety and quality control procedures; preparing and administering radiopharmaceuticals; operating nuclear medicine instruments; positioning patients for imaging procedures; collecting, preparing and analyzing biologic specimens; and preparing data for interpretation.