FARMINGTON — The imaging department at Franklin Memorial Hospital has been awarded a three-year accreditation in nuclear medicine after a recent review by the American College of Radiology.

“Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material, ingested by or injected into the patient, to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases, including many types of cancers, heart disease and certain other abnormalities within the body,” Christopher Bailey, director of radiology, cardiopulmonary and cardiology, said.

The department boasts state-of-the-art equipment, including a dual-head SPECT/CT gamma camera, which picks up the isotope tracers and allows the organ functionality to be seen. A radiologist or cardiologist interprets the images and provides information necessary to make diagnosis and treatment decisions.

The three nuclear medicine technologists who operate the equipment are: Leslie Tainter-Pond, Adam Waleik and Heather Poulin, all of whom are registered and certified.

The American College of Radiology gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting the college’s practice parameters and technical standards after a peer review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the committee on accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report that can be used for continuous practice improvement.

In addition to nuclear medicine tests to provide image of the internal organs, the hospital’s imaging department also provides mammography, ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, DEXA bone density, and x-ray.

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