gamma camera [Gk, gamma, third letter of Greek alphabet; L, camera, vault] , a device that uses the emission of light from a crystal struck by gamma rays to produce an image of the distribution of radioactive material in a body organ. The light is detected by an array of light-sensitive electronic components and is converted into electric signals, which are processed to produce the image. The gamma camera is a workhorse of nuclear medicine departments, where it is used to produce scans of patients who have been injected with small amounts of radioactive materials.
