Silicon Valley Medical Imaging

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RUBIDIUM IMAGING

Patient preparing for a CAT scan with the help of a technologist.

Silicon Valley Medical Imaging is the exclusive provider of Rubidium-82 myocardial perfusion imaging 7 days a week for all of Northern California.

Rubidium PET acquires images by detecting the radioactive tracer rubidium. The CT part of the combined PET CT imaging system measures blood flow to the heart and yields images of coronary arteries quite comparable to those seen in an invasive technique called cardiac catheterization. Rubidium PET/CT produces a clear picture of perfused areas of heart muscle, and is very sensitive in picking up heart disease.

Individuals who are studied are either normal, or have an abnormal test. The ones with abnormal tests are either offered behavior modification advice (change of eating habits, increasing exercise, or reducing stress), and to take medications to reduce their risk for coronary artery disease; or an intervention can be done to treat invasive or by surgery. They can then be scanned at a later time to see what benefit occurred.