Medical Imaging NY

Nuclear Medicine encompasses the broad range of imaging systems available in diagnostic medicine. For over a century, the developments in diagnostic medicine have come to include radiation, atomic particles – even sound – to help radiologists in NYC take a look inside the human body without undergoing surgery. To be frank, the innovation in diagnostic medicine is ingenious.

Some imaging systems available are: PET/CT scans, MRI, X-ray and ultrasound. Though these systems have different means, their purpose is to capture the images of the internal body, more specifically, an isolated area of interest to both physician and patient. With the aid of these imaging systems, physicians can detect and treat diseases as simple as a fracture or as complex as cancer.

The team of dedicated and leading NY radiologists at the renowned East River Imaging Centre in NY, are among the top diagnostic professionals and their facility is the model to which other multi-modal facilities aspire to be. Dr. Richard Katz and Dr. George Stassa (ret.) have developed the one of the most comprehensive radiology New York facilities in the country and certainly in the tri-state area. Their commitment to patient care ensures you will receive the most attention and information possible, using the latest radiology equipment available.

East River's Millenium MG is an imaging scanner that permits whole body and spot imaging as well as tomographic slices like a CT scan. Typically, you will be asked to rest on a padded table during the exam. Studies of the liver / spleen, gallbladder, kidneys, and breast MRI are performed right after the injection of a contrast solution that helps radiologists differentiate between tissues. Bone scans are performed between 2 and 3 hours after, and a gallium scan is performed 2 to 3 days after receiving the agent. Depending on the type of exam, the time required for scanning is usually around one hour.
As always, East River’s dedication to patient comfort and care will make your experience at East River Imaging, NY, a pleasant visit administered by some of the nation’s leading New York radiologists.

Nuclear medicine studies were first done in the 1950s using special devices called "gamma cameras." Nuclear medicine studies require NY radiologists to administer the oral or intravenous introduction of very low-level radioactive chemicals into the body. These substances are specially formulated to be collected temporarily in the specific part of the body to be studied by radiology New York. The isotopes that result from the injection are taken up by the organs in the body and then emit faint gamma ray signals which are measured by a gamma camera. The gamma camera has a large crystal detector. These crystals detect the emitted radiation signal and convert that signal into faint light. The light is then converted to an electric signal, which is then digitized and reconstructed into an image by a computer. The resulting image is viewed on the system monitor and can be manipulated (post-processed) and filmed, sent over a network to another location, or saved on a disk. This process is truly a benchmark in NYC radiology.

The nuclear medicine image can either be in shades of black and white, for instance in a bone scan, or they can be color coded to clearly show functional activity.

Nuclear medicine imaging is an excellent diagnostic tool because it shows not only the anatomy (structure) of an organ or body part, but the function of the organ as well. For example, nuclear medicine is an important component in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. A cardiac scan yields excellent images of the beating heart and the blood vessels (coronary arteries) that supply the heart muscle (myocardium) with blood.

Most procedures are painless and require the patient only to be at rest while the imaging system does its work. In some cases – like a PET or CT scan - an injection called a contrast injection is needed to help radiologists “read” or identify internal organs from other tissue. Other imaging systems, like x-ray, only require you to remain still for a few seconds.