Nuclear medicine is the branch of medicine that uses low-level radioactive sources in liquid, swallowable or injectable form.
At the Clinique de Genolier, our Nuclear Medicine Centre is open to all patients, whether for diagnostic, disease monitoring or therapeutic purposes.
Using low-level radioactive tracers specific to each disease, it is possible to offer non-invasive diagnosis for the following main disease groups:
Before becoming a diagnostic speciality, nuclear medicine was first and foremost a therapeutic discipline. Today, treatment is possible for the following conditions:
The centre's nuclear doctors contribute their expertise and take part in the following tumour boards:
Clinique de Genolier:
Nyon Hospital (GHOL):
In oncology, the initial care of patients is based on a precise diagnosis and extension assessment. Assessing the response to treatment is also of crucial importance. In this context, the functional imaging provided by PET/CT offers a precise and comprehensive analysis of the patient's overall tumour involvement, both primary and metastatic.
PET/CT can also be used to detect inflammatory or infectious conditions, whether vascular, organic or prosthetic.
In cardiology, a PET/CT scan of myocardial perfusion under pharmacological stress is a non-invasive examination technique for assessing the blood supply to the heart muscle and thus detecting ischaemia.
From a neurological point of view, PET/CT enables us to establish the differential diagnosis of cognitive disorders.
Bone scintigraphy enables functional analysis of the skeleton in the context of trauma, oncology or inflammation. The radiotracer used is technetium-99m (Tc-99m). It detects bone metastases, fractures, loosening of prostheses and osteoarticular infections and inflammations.
Lung scintigraphy provides highly sensitive mapping of pulmonary perfusion and ventilation. It will detect pulmonary embolisms and criteria for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
DATSCAN brain scintigraphy is a functional diagnostic test that explores the density of dopamine transporters. It is used to diagnose Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.
Sentinel lymph node screening is used to locate the first lymph node in the lymphatic chain draining a cancer. The most frequent indications are breast cancer, ENT cancer and melanoma.
Hepatobiliary scintigraphy is used to assess liver function and excretion.
Red blood cell marking is used to detect digestive extravasation in cases of suspected digestive haemorrhage.
Internal vector radiotherapy involves administering a radiopharmaceutical drug that binds specifically to tumour cells in order to irradiate the tumour tissue in a targeted manner. The main targets treated are liver, prostate and neuroendocrine tumours.
To treat synovitis in chronic inflammatory rheumatism, radioisotopic synoviorthesis or "radiosynoviorthesis" aims to achieve synovectomy by atrophy or necrosis of the hypertrophic synovial villi.
The Nuclear Medicine Center of the Genolier Clinic is active in the fields of medical research and biotechnology, as well as in medical and medical-technical education.
It is also one of the few Centers of Excellence in Molecular Imaging and Theranostics of the company General Electric Healthcare, and the only center of its kind in Switzerland.
In this context, we are asking you to sign several documents regarding the use and protection of your data for research purposes. Indeed, our ability to diagnose and treat diseases has significantly advanced over the past decades. These advances have been made possible thanks to the sustained efforts of medical research, in which several generations of doctors, scientists, and patients have actively participated. A significant part of this research relies on the use of clinical data from patients' medical records, such as laboratory test results, medical treatments, or genetic predispositions.
By ticking "YES" and signing the consent declaration, you agree that your data may be reused for research purposes. The data include those collected in the past as well as those that will be collected during your current and future hospital and outpatient stays. This consent does not include biological samples.
If you do not sign the form, meaning in the absence of a response from you, the law provides that the data may be used exceptionally for research after authorization by the competent ethics committee. It is therefore important for you to express your choice.
Your consent is voluntary. It remains valid indefinitely or until a possible withdrawal. You can withdraw your consent at any time using the contact details below without having to justify your decision. In case of withdrawal, your data will no longer be available for new research projects. This does not concern data already used or anonymized.
You can object to the anonymization of your data by contacting the Nuclear Medicine service at the address below.
Your decision has no effect on your medical treatment.
The data are recorded at the Clinique de Genolier Swiss Medical Network and protected in compliance with the current legal requirements. Only employees or independent professionals working within the Swiss Medical Network, such as physicians, have access to your identified data.
If your data is used for a research project, it will be coded or anonymized. "Coded" means that all personal information (e.g., your name or date of birth) is replaced by a code. The key that allows identifying which code corresponds to which individual is kept securely by a person not involved in the research project. Those who do not have the coding key cannot identify you. In the case of anonymization, the link between the data and the individual is permanently broken, meaning no specific participant can be re-identified.
Most research projects use coded data, especially when they can generate results relevant to the health of the concerned individuals.
The data protection rights in research are the same as in care, including the right to access your personal data. These rights end upon anonymization of your data.
The data may be used by researchers authorized for research projects conducted at the Clinique de Genolier or in collaboration with other public institutions (other hospitals or universities, for example) and private entities (pharmaceutical companies, for example) in Switzerland or abroad. The provision of data for research projects abroad requires that the data protection conditions are at least equivalent to those applied in Switzerland. Any research project using your data must have obtained the authorization of the competent Ethics Commission.
Research conducted with your data will generally not reveal any individual information relevant to your health. However, in rare cases, it may be that relevant results, for which treatments or preventive actions are available, are discovered. If you do not wish to receive such information, please contact the Nuclear Medicine service at the address below.
Additionally, you have the right to receive information at any time on matters related to the research project.
These rights end if your data is anonymized.
Your participation does not incur any additional costs for you. The law excludes the commercialization of data and samples. Thus, no financial advantage will be generated for you or the hospital.
