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The advance of science and technology has allowed great changes in the field of health. One of them is the nuclear medicine technique, which allows timely diagnosis and treatment of cardiac abnormalities, early detection of cancer and neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s, or endocrinological.
In the case of the heart, nuclear technology provides more information than other types of traditional examinations and allows visualization of coronary artery problems simultaneously and non-invasively. In addition, it allows the doctor to have a diagnosis and information to predict heart attacks preventing future conditions.
The engineer Italo Cavassa Morales, manager of the Advanced Center for Nuclear Medicine, said in Peru21.TV that “with this technology the profile of cardiovascular disease in the Peruvian population will change radically.” He added that “people will die less from heart attacks because the diagnoses and treatments will be better.” This new method uses positron emission tomography (PET) and photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), which evaluates the functioning of organs.
For the operation of this test, a radiopharmaceutical is first administered to the patient in three different ways, depending on the organ to be studied, either by injection, orally or by inhalation.
After that, the gamma rays of this substance are detected by a camera that transforms the information into a computerized image, which will allow monitoring from the outside and be analyzed by the doctor.
The advantage over other diagnostic methods is that it is not an invasive technique; that is, it does not require surgery, Dr. Juan Urquiaga, a nuclear cardiologist at the Advanced Center for Nuclear Medicine, told this newspaper.
“There is a growing number of patients with chronic diseases and the timely prediction of these diseases is becoming a primary concern. It’s about saving and prolonging lives, ”said engineer Cavassa.
KEEP IN MIND:
-Nuclear technology is essential for the evaluation and diagnosis of various diseases. 
-According to the Ministry of Health, in Peru every year more than 32 thousand Peruvians die from cancer, becoming the leading cause of death in the country.
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