The Nuclear Medicine service at the MSPCA-Angell is a unique imaging modality that falls under the umbrella of diagnostic imaging. This technique allows us to administer a radioactive substance (radionuclide) either by injection or by mouth and observe the activity within the patient, providing both morphologic (form and structure) and functional information.

Services

Our team offers a full range of nuclear medicine procedures, including:

Bone Scans

• Generally used for evaluation of primary or metastatic disease, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, fracture healing, subchondral disease, enthesopathy, or occult lameness, including bone tumors
• Obtained using HDP (disodium oxidronate) or MDP (methylene diphosphonate) labeled with 99m-Tc

Thyroid Scintigraphy

• Helpful in evaluating our hyperthyroid patients or to evaluate for size and/or metastatic spread of thyroid cancer

I-131 Therapy

• This is a treatment for hyperthyroidism in cats that uses radioactive iodine to cure the disease. For more information, please visit our 1-131 Therapy service page.

GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate)

• Acquired as a dynamic (moving) study in real-time
• Useful for evaluation of renal function before nephrectomy
• An inexpensive way to evaluate renal function

Trans-splenic Portal Scintigraphy (TSPS)

• A helpful tool to confirm or deny a portosystemic shunt

Synovetin OA Injections

• This is a minimally invasive nuclear medicine injection is offered through our Surgery service and can help relieve pain and inflammation from chronic osteoarthritis (OA) in dogs. For more information, please visit our Synovetin OA service page. 

Referring Veterinarians

To find out more about our diagnostic imaging services available to referring veterinarians, please click here.