Nuclear Medicine Technologist - Tasks and specialisations
Ringa Hangarau Rongoā Karihi
Tasks & duties
Nuclear medicine technologists may do some or all of the following:
- prepare radioactive materials (tracers) for injection
- explain nuclear medicine procedures to patients
- position the patient and equipment for examination
- administer tracers to the patient through injection, ingestion and inhalation
- analyse the tracers in the patient using a gamma camera (an electronic instrument used to create an image of radioactive compounds distributed in human tissue) and computer
- use radioactive materials to treat diseases
- carry out quality assurance tests on equipment and tracers.
Nuclear medicine technologists use a computer to analyse tracers (radioactive chemicals) in a patient
Catherine Evans using a gamma camera to scan a patient
Updated
September 2009
