The Department of Nuclear Medicine is a national referral centre and provides its services routinely to patients from SGH, other hospitals and private medical facilities, as well as referrals from outside of Singapore. It has two main subdivisions:

• Imaging Division: Provides a full spectrum of nuclear imaging services, performing approximately 15,000 procedures a year. These involve the in-vivo administration of radionuclides for diagnostic scanning, as well as therapeutic applications.
• Endocrine Laboratory Division: Offers a comprehensive range of nearly 36 different endocrine assays.

TEACHING AND TRAINING

The Department provides training for basic and advanced trainees in diagnostic radiology and medical endocrinology. The department also provides training for nurses, physicists, pharmacists, medical undergraduates and radiographers. The department also accepts fellows for training in clinical nuclear medicine techniques. 16 Overseas Fellows from Asia were trained in 2001, sponsored by International Atomic Energy Agency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

ADVANCED SPECIALTY TRAINING PROGRAM

The 3-year program is designed to provide trainees with clinical exposure and competence in nuclear medicine. The objective of this training is to ensure that the advanced trainee increase his/her proficiency in a specific area of interest within the field of Nuclear Medicine, e.g. Nuclear Oncology and Nuclear Cardiology. The trainee must spend at least 2 years full-time in the Department of Nuclear Medicine, followed by a 6 to 12 months’ overseas attachment in a specific area of subspecialty training. At the end of the training, he/she will be proficient in undertaking all Nuclear Medicine activities in the Department.

RESEARCH

The Department is actively involved in ongoing medical research in collaboration with various clinical departments. Some of the current research studies include:

1. Radionuclide treatment of liver cancer using Rhenium-188 Lipiodol/I-131 Lipiodol/Yttrium-90 microspheres.
2. Intravascular radionuclide therapy in liquid-filled balloons to prevent re-stenosis after angioplasty.
3. Scintimammography and sentinel lymph-node detection in Breast Cancer.
4. Serum markers of bone turnover in normal and osteoporotic patients.
5. Bone turnover markers in Nasopharyngeal Cancer patients.
6. CRC-595 antibody labeled with technetium-99m to detect ovarian cancer recurrence and metastases.

WELFARE & FACILITIES FOR JUNIOR DOCTORS
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