Background. Through its use of ionising radiation, the field of nuclear medicine forms a unique and significant part of medical diagnostics and patient treatment. Objectives. To assess the operational potential of nuclear medicine in Poland based on existing database/literature sources together with conducting a survey on the relevant healthcare facilities available, staffing, expertise and performance. Material and Methods. To gather all available literature data on the medical use of ionising radiation in Poland several data bases were used, since currently, there are no single statistical data base devoted to this issue. Data on radiation hygiene were thus collected from the Statistical Bulletin of the Ministry of Health, Annual reports from the National Atomic Energy Agency and Central Statistics Office. Additionally, national and provincial reports were used, as well as those received from the European Society of Nuclear Medicine. Results. At present, the Public Healthcare system in Poland has 55 nuclear medicine departmental facilities operating and 8 that are private/non-public. These are staffed by 252 doctors, of whom 151are qualified as nuclear medicine specialists; constituting one specialist per 300,000 inhabitants. In addition, 170 highly qualified staff (biologists, chemists, physicists, electronics engineers and IT specialists) provide indispensable scientific/operational support and are vital for the development of nuclear medicine departments. They are mainly responsible for ensuring that all equipment functions effectively and for developing new diagnostic techniques, together with new radiopharmaceuticals. Furthermore, there are approximately 500 other staff at intermediate-level also involved in nuclear medicine departments, such as technicians, nurses and support workers. The survey demonstrated an average of 22 persons employed per nuclear medicine department. For all institutions, it is estimated that there are 127 gamma cameras, 10 PET/CT scanners and 16 hybrid SPECT/CT systems operating. In 2000, approximately 117,435 diagnostic procedures were performed, compared to 156,214 in 2008 and with the current number of around 170,000; up to 38% were simple thyroid scintigraphies, 25% were bone scans, 11% heart scintigraphies and 10% kidney scans. Conclusions. The number of diagnostic radioisotopic procedures in Poland are strongly expected to increase by 300% during the next 5-6 years. To meet this rise, additional equipment will thus be necessary, which includes having an extra 100 SPECT/CT gamma cameras.
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