The Division of Nuclear Medicine of the Department of Medicine provides comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic Nuclear Medicine services to the patients of North Shore University Hospital at Manhasset. Services are available on both an inpatient and ambulatory basis.

What Is Nuclear Medicine?
Nuclear Medicine is a medical specialty that uses safe, painless, and cost effective techniques both to image the body and treat disease. 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.As an intricate part of patient care, Nuclear Medicine is used in the diagnosis, management, treatment, and prevention of serious disease. Nuclear Medicine imaging procedures often identify abnormalities early in the progression of a disease before the condition is apparent with other diagnostic tests. This early detection permits prompt treatment and a more successful outcome.Nuclear Medicine uses very small amounts of radioactive materials or radiopharmaceuticals to diagnose and treat disease. Radiopharmaceuticals are substances that are attracted to specific organs, bones, or tissues.The radiopharmaceuticals used in Nuclear Medicine emit gamma rays that can be detected externally by special types of cameras: gamma or PET cameras. These cameras work in conjunction with computers used to form images that provide data and information about the area of the body being imaged. The amount of radiation from a Nuclear Medicine procedure is comparable to that received during a diagnostic x-ray.Today, Nuclear Medicine offers procedures that are helpful to a broad span of medical specialties, from Pedatrics to Cardiology to Psychiatry. There are nearly 100 Nuclear Medicine imaging procedures available. There is not a major organ system that cannot be imaged by Nuclear Medicine. Some examples of the procedures we perform are:

Your doctor may refer you or a family member for a test in the Nuclear Medicine Department because the information obtained from the test will be important in determining the diagnosis and treatment of your medical problem.

What Will Happen During the Test?
Millions of Nuclear Medicine tests are performed each year in the United States alone. Nuclear Medicine tests (also known as scans, examinations, or procedures) are safe and painless. In a Nuclear Medicine test, the radioactive material is introduced into the body by injection, swallowing or inhalation. Different tracers are used to study different parts of the body. The amount of tracer used is carefully selected to provide the least amount of radiation exposure to the patient but insure an accurate test. A special camera (scintillation or gamma camera) is used to take pictures of your body. The camera does this by detecting the tracer in the organ, bone or tissue being imaged and then records this information on a computer screen or on film.

Service Location
300 Community Drive
1st Floor, Levitt Building

Service Leader
Donald Margouleff, M. D.
Chief, Nuclear Medicine
516-562-4400

Hours
Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 8:00 to 4:00 p.m. There are physicians and a technologist available for emergency procedures 24 hours, 7 days a week.