Nuclear Medicine is a system of Diagnostic and Therapeutic practice that uses controlled amounts of radioactive material. It facilitates diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases i.e. many types of cancer, heart disease, gastrointestinal, endocrine, neurological disorders, etc. It is unique because it provides information about both structure and function of the body. Nuclear Medicine imaging provides unique information that often cannot be obtained using other imaging procedures. Information is retrieved without surgery or expensive diagnostic testing. It offers the potential to identify disease in its earliest stages.

What is unique about the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Asiri?

Our team consists of a highly qualified, overseas trained and well experienced panel of clinicians. Our Nuclear Medicine Department works in close partnership with and under the supervision of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) to ensure international standards are maintained and delivered.

The special services we offer:

• Diagnosis of cancer
• Staging and restaging of cancer with treatment
• Monitoring of response to treatment
• For detection of recurrence of cancer
• Radioactive I131 ablative dose for thyroid remnant ablation in Differentiated Thyroid Cancer following Total Thyroidectomy.
• Radioactive I131 suppressive dose for patients with Thyrotoxicosis

Our Technology

1. PET-CT Scanner
   Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography (PET-CT) Scans
   Asiri AOI housed at Asiri Surgical Hospital is the only facility in the local private sector with the facility to perform PET-CT scans and we offer an uninterrupted service throughout the year.
   

   A PET-CT scan is used to detect cancer and identify the stage it is at. Cancer Stage describes how far the cancer has spread locally and distally. Knowing the correct stage of the patient’s cancer will help to predict the right treatment. Traditional imaging, CT alone or MRI give mainly structural details of the organ, but a combined PET-CT gives function and anatomical imaging. The PET component detects changes in the cellular function, such as how cells are using glucose. In many cases, a PET-CT scan can distinguish between benign and malignant tumors and provides the information required to make an accurate diagnosis. Cancer cells have a higher metabolic rate than noncancerous cells. Because of this high level of radioactive activity, cancer cells show up as bright spots on PET-CT scans, making these scans more useful for detecting cancer. The Discovery 600 PET-CT Asiri AOI’s PET-CT combines the power of two imaging technologies and helps physicians account for variations in tumour size, shape and location and even allows physicians to account for allowances when patients move or breathe.

   A PET-CT scan can be used, prior to starting cancer treatment (including surgery), to correctly stage the disease and choose the best treatment option; during treatment or immediately after completing the cancer treatment to ensure the treatment is effectively destroying the cancer within the patient; after treatment, during the follow up, to detect recurrences early, so a patient can be offered appropriate treatment.

2. Gamma Camera
   An imaging technique for molecular function of organs (skeleton, thyroid, kidneys, lung, heart, liver, gallbladder, etc.) Gamma cameras image the radiation emitted from a radioactive pharmaceutical introduced into a patient’s body. It maps early functional changes in disease, compared to other radiological tests like X-ray & CT scan. e.g., Bone scans show as positive six months before an X-ray does.