Service delivery (nuclear medicine physics)
Nuclear medicine at University Hospital Southampton (UHS) is a leading specialist centre serving patients across the South Coast, Isle of Wight, and Channel Islands. We are dedicated to providing advanced diagnostic investigations and therapeutic treatments involving the use of radioactivity.
Equipped with an on-site radiopharmacy and state-of-the-art quantitative SPECT/CT gamma camera systems, alongside an extensive network of expert teams, nuclear medicine offer a wide range of diagnostic tests. In 2023 alone, 36 different types of nuclear medicine studies were performed, covering brain, heart, and lung scans, oncological imaging, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) kidney tests.
Additionally, more than 400 individual radionuclide therapies are delivered annually, spanning various treatments such as selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT) for colorectal cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, peptide receptor radionuclide therapy for neuroendocrine tumours, iodine therapy for thyroid cancer and thyrotoxicosis, radium therapy for prostate cancer, and prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) therapy for prostate cancer.
Furthermore, we extend our medical physics expertise to the onsite Alliance PET/CT facility at UHS and provide support to external sites in the Isle of Wight and Channel Islands.
At the core of our service is a commitment to ensuring safe and effective patient care in nuclear medicine and PET. Our quantitative SPECT and PET imaging techniques offer high-sensitivity functional imaging, and uniquely, they are also able to track the distribution and efficacy of treatment in vivo. We provide expert advice to clinical departments on the scientific and technical aspects of nuclear medicine procedures, optimising exposures and ensuring image quality. Collaborating closely with the scientific computing team at UHS, we also develop advanced image processing solutions to enhance diagnostic accuracy.
In the realm of molecular radiotherapy, we develop administration protocols and collaborate with healthcare professionals to ensure the safe delivery of treatments. Our team offers dosimetry expertise to optimise individual treatments, improving patient outcomes. We also offer practical assistance and radiation protection advice to patients and their carers.
We are responsible for quality assurance of equipment and services and operate within an ISO 9001 quality management system. Through equipment surveys and trend analysis, we proactively address equipment performance issues to minimise system downtime. Our continuous risk-based approach to procedure updates ensures compliance with local clinical demand and international standards.
Our objectives are clear: to support the safe use of ionising radiation, improve radiation exposure quality, and communicate scientific advancements to promote best practices. We achieve this through investment in skilled personnel, effective work systems, and transparent communication.
As leaders in diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine, we provide guidance on scientific and technical aspects, alongside supporting equipment selection, risk analysis, and business case development. Committed to comprehensive support, we introduce and validate new techniques tailored to each site's requirements.