A nuclear medicine scan is a diagnostic test that uses a small amount of a radioactive substance, called a tracer or radiopharmaceutical, to create images of the inside of the body. This tracer travels to specific organs or tissues and emits gamma rays, which are detected by a special camera (a gamma camera) to produce images that show how these organs are functioning.
You have likely been referred for a nuclear medicine scan to help diagnose a condition by showing how your organs are functioning. This type of scan can assess various parts of the body, such as the heart, brain, bones, lungs and kidneys, and can help doctors determine the best course of treatment or evaluate how a current treatment is working.
A nuclear medicine scan involves a small, non-painful injection of a radioactive tracer, followed by a period of waiting before you lie still on a special imaging table. A gamma camera then takes pictures of the area of your body being examined by detecting the gamma rays the tracer gives off. The procedure is safe, the radioactive dose is low, and there are usually no side effects.
For many scans, such as a bone scan, you will have to wait approximately 2 to 3 hours after an injection before the scan can be performed. For a thyroid scan, the wait might only be 20 minutes.
The actual time spent under the camera can vary; a bone scan may take around 40 minutes to an hour, while a thyroid scan might take around 30 minutes.
Additional Content
- Case studies
- Ideally short video of radiographer talking to camera – Content to be provided in conjunction with Lead Radiologists