Centre for Radiology

Clinic for Nuclear Medicine

We treat patients of Stuttgart Clinical Centre with the full range of diagnostic and therapeutic services of nuclear medicine. Therefore, we provide two modern two-head system cameras and a new SPECT/CT-System. There is also a highly modern PET/CT scanner (Biograph Molecular CT (mCT)) with an adaptive 64 slice spiral CT for (neuro-) oncological, neurological and cardiac PET/CT examinations. After establishment of the practice for nuclear medicine and molecular imaging at the Clinic for Nuclear Medicine at Katharinenhospital in January 2013, we are able to offer the full range of diagnostic nuclear medicine facilities to outpatients for the first time.

On our nuclear medicine ward, we treat patients with benign and malignant thyroid diseases by radioactive iodine. Another emphasis is radio peptide therapy for patients with metastasizing neuroendocrine tumours, selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT) of malignant tumours and palliative pain therapy due to painful osseous metastases. We also offer the facilities to treat children with neuroblastoma by radionuclide therapy while they are accompanied by their parents.

Treatment and care emphases

All clinically relevant nuclear medical diagnostic procedures, including:

  • Comprehensive thyroid outpatient department (post-care of thyroid carcinomas, evaluation of nodes of thyreoiditides, autoimmune thyreopathy, adjustment and control of hormone substitution)
  • All standard procedures for specific organ diagnostics (skeleton, heart, thyroid gland, renal scintigraphy and other procedures)
  • Special neurological examinations (DaTSCAN SPECT for diagnostics of Parkinson’s disease, FDG PET for evaluation of neurodegenerative diseases)
  • Sentinel lymph node scintigraphy with probe measurements
  • Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy
  • FDG-PET/CT in oncological problems
  • Cholin-PET/CT in prostate cancer
  • Somatostatin receptor imaging via PET/CT in neuroendocrine tumours
  • FET-PET in brain tumours
  • Fluoride PET/CT in bone metastasis therapy and orthopaedic problems

Therapy with unsealed radionuclides:

  • Radioiodine therapy of benign thyroid diseases and in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (early ablation and metastases therapy)
  • Radio-peptide therapy for neuroendocrine tumours
  • Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) of primary and secondary hepatic tumours
  • MIBG therapy
  • Palliative pain therapy for bone metastases

Special offers and facilities

  • SORAMIC
  • HD 16
  • HD 18
  • PETAL
  • GLIAA
  • FET PET 2010
  • Prof. Dr. Pöpperl is chairmain of the AG PRRT, of the German Society for Nuclear Medicine and chairman of the German Net Register

Distinguished procedures in diagnosis and therapy

  • State-of-the-art ultra-high-resolution and at the same time dose-saving 64-line PET/CT scanner
  • Modern hot laboratory with laminar flow unit and isolator for a qualitatively high-value GMP compliant production and filling of all used radio-pharmaceuticals
  • Automated peptide synthesize unit for production of radioactively-marked Somatostatin analogs to provide PET/CT diagnosis (proof and extension diagnosis even of the smallest Somatostatin receptors of positive neuroendocrine tumours) and radiopeptide therapy (interstitial radiotherapy with Y-90 and Lu-177-marked Somatostatin analogs in patients with inoperable metastasizing neuroendocrine tumours)
  • Other established nuclear medical therapies are the SIRT (selective internal radiation therapy) of primary and secondary hepatic tumours, palliative pain therapy of painful bone metastases and MIBG therapy of pheochromocytomas and neuroblastomas

Quality assurance

  • External: Medical authority (regular quality assurance according to StrSchV and RöV)
  • Internal: Regular quality controls (DIN, StrSchV, RöV)
  • Certification of the German Society for Nuclear Medicine to provide PET/CT examinations (Prof. Dr. Pöpperl)

Hospital numbers

2015 2016 2017  
6 6 6 Available beds
447* 476 462 Inpatient cases
3.2 3.4 3.4 Length of stay in days

* Reduction of cases between reconstruction measures

Selected services (case number)

2015 2016 2017  
1.345 1.335 1.380 PET / CT examinations
439* 476 462 Nuclear medicine therapies (Radioiodine therapy/radio-peptide therapy/SIRT)
217 235 210 Sentinel lymph node scintigraphy

* Reduction of cases between reconstruction measures