SINGAPORE: Nuclear medicine is increasingly being used since it was first introduced in Singapore one and a half years ago. It relies on the use of radioactive elements in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and is commonly used in tandem with advanced scanning techniques such as the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) or CT scan at many hospitals in the country.<\/p>\n
Doctors at Raffles Hospital have seen a 40 per cent increase in the number of patients treated using nuclear medicine. These doctors added that using nuclear medicine is 80 per cent more accurate than traditional biopsies.<\/p>\n
Dr Andrew Tan, a nuclear medicine specialist at Raffles Hospital, said: \"With this type of scan, we are able to delve into molecular structure, so that means we are able to detect tumours as small as 0.4 or 0.5 centimetres and diagnose cancer at an earlier stage as compared to other types of imaging scans.\"<\/p>\n
At Raffles Hospital, each scan costs S$2,000. Patients can use their Medisave accounts to pay for the scans, claiming up to S$600 each year.<\/p>\n
There are currently 10 types of nuclear medicine worldwide, and 50 new types are under development. Raffles Hospital aims to use new types of nuclear medicine to diagnose diseases such as heart diseases. <\/p>\n
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Use of nuclear medicine on the rise in Singapore<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SINGAPORE: Nuclear medicine is increasingly being used since it was first introduced in Singapore one and a half years ago. It relies on the use of radioactive elements in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and is commonly used in tandem with advanced scanning techniques such as the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) or CT scan at many hospitals in the country. Doctors at Raffles Hospital have seen a 40 per cent increase in the number of patients treated using nuclear medicine. Continue reading