Use of nuclear medicine on the rise in Oman

The use of nuclear medicine is seeing a surge in the Sultanate as part of enhancing quality of healthcare and ensuring prompt and accurate diagnosis, according to the medical experts.

Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging just like MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) that uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose diseases in the fields of oncology, cardiology, orthology, endocrinology and neurological sciences, and detect/ rule out malignancies and infections.

“We have been using nuclear medicine for several years and the major reason behind this is the increased accuracy and ease of identification of malignant areas,” Dr Waleed Al Zadjali, President of Oman Medical Association, told the Observer.

A new department of nuclear medicine will be opened soon at Royal Hospital, which will ensure a higher rate of success in diagnosis of diseases affecting different parts of the body.

“Oman will be further advancing the use of nuclear medicine in select areas of medical sciences in the days to come. Compared with the conventional ways of imaging, the branch of nuclear medicine penetrates through tissues, clearly showing the deep-rooted problem in humans,” says Dr Al Zadjali.

Worldwide, nuclear medicine procedures are used for diagnosing and treating some illnesses using radioactive materials called radiopharmaceuticals.