Nuclear Medicine
Nuclear medicine is an advanced medical field that uses radioisotopes to diagnose and treat various states and diseases of the body. We administer tracers that reflect the body’s metabolism, and visualize their distribution or precisely measure the quantity of trace elements in the blood or body fluids to allow early diagnosis of diseases including many types of cancers, neurologic disease, heart disease, endocrine disease, and kidney disease, to aid in treatment. We also administer radiopharmaceuticals that gather at specific diseased regions of the body to treat diseases.
Strong points
The Department of Nuclear Medicine at the Samsung Medical Center consists of six professors, 10 physicians, and 60 staff members who provide world-class testing and medical services in our medical imaging, PET testing, and clinical specimen testing rooms.
In 1994, we opened our PET center with a PET scanner and cyclotron for the first time in Korea, and have performed a leading role in the field of nuclear imaging in the nation ever since.
Also, we obtained the international standard for medical service ISO15189 certificate through the Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS) in September 2014 for the first time in Korea, along with our world-class ex vivo specimen testing room.
As of 2015, we are equipped with four PET/CT scanners, seven SPECT gamma cameras, including a SPECT/CT scanner, two cyclotrons, six gamma-ray detectors, and two automatic dispensers, and most of them are up-to-date devices released at the end of 2000. Diagnosis and testing cases have increased annually, and in 2014 we performed 21,000 PET/CT tests, 24,000 general nuclear imaging tests, 870,000 cases of specimen tests using radioimmunoassay, and 800 treatments using radioisotopes. Our medical personnel provide rapid results with their expertise and experience in each field including tumors, cardiology, and neurologic diseases to allow for smooth treatment. We are doing our utmost to
provide the best service by minimizing the waiting time for patients to lessen their inconvenience.