Nuclear Medicine

The Department of Nuclear Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University was established in 1959. It is one of the earliest institutions in China to carry out radionuclide diagnosis and treatment, and also the earliest institution in Heilongjiang Province to establish a department of nuclear medicine. Beginning in the early 1960s, it started carrying out radionuclide diagnostic and treatment work such as iodine-131 treatment for hyperthyroidism and phosphorus-32 applicator treatment for skin diseases, accumulating extensive clinical experience. In 1989, it introduced the first SPECT in the province; in 2000, the first dual-head SPECT in the province; and in 2008, the first SPECT/CT in Northeast China (equipped with diagnostic CT). At present, in addition to advanced SPECT (dual-head) and SPECT/CT (equipped with diagnostic CT), the department also has modern radioimmunoassay analyzers, chemiluminescence analyzers (6 units), and multifunctional radionuclide measuring instruments (2 units), among others. The department currently has four nuclear medicine professional diagnosis and treatment rooms (groups): the ECT room (including one SPECT and one SPECT/CT), the radionuclide therapy group (thyroid specialty outpatient clinic: iodine-131 treatment for hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer, etc.; applicator treatment room: applicator treatment for cutaneous hemangiomas, scars, etc.), the radioimmunoassay room, and the radionuclide function room (renogram room and thyroid function room). It undertakes the clinical diagnosis and treatment work of SPECT imaging, in vitro radioimmunoassay testing, radionuclide function examinations, and radionuclide therapy for outpatients, inpatients, and people undergoing health examinations throughout the hospital. Radionuclide therapy is the specialty's strength; in particular, iodine-131 treatment for hyperthyroidism is currently ranked among the leading programs in China, and the department has accumulated extensive clinical practical experience.

Through the efforts and continuous accumulation of several generations over the course of several decades, the department now has a team of experienced and highly skilled professional and technical personnel. The department currently has 13 medical and technical personnel, including 8 physicians, 3 technologists, and 2 nurses, including 3 chief physicians/professors, 2 associate chief physicians/associate professors, 3 attending physicians, 1 associate chief technologist, 2 technologists, 1 associate chief nurse, and 1 nurse-in-charge. The department currently has 2 doctoral/master's supervisors; it has undertaken or led more than 30 national-level and provincial-/ministerial-level scientific research projects or educational research projects, among others; published more than 100 international, national-level, and provincial-level papers; served as chief editor of 8 works and contributing editor of 12; served as chief editor of 2 Ministry of Health medical audiovisual teaching materials and contributed to 12 university textbooks; and received nearly 50 awards, including National Science and Technology Conference Awards, provincial-/ministerial-level Science and Technology Achievement Awards, Provincial Educational Research Achievement Awards, and Provincial Medical New Technology Awards. It is currently a National Clinical Key Specialty in Medical Imaging (including nuclear medicine) and the institution of the chairperson of the Nuclear Medicine Branch of the Heilongjiang Medical Doctor Association.