What is a nuclear medicine scan?
A nuclear medicine scan is a test that produces images of the body using small safe amounts of radioactive material. These images allow the radiologist to diagnose certain diseases. • What should I expect? For a thyroid scan, the patient receives one or two pills of a very low, safe dose of radioactive iodine 24 hours prior to the study. For most other exams, a very low, safe dose of radioactive material is injected by vein at the time of the study. After the radioactive material is administered, pictures are taken with a special camera known as a gamma camera. Sometimes the patient sits or lies next to the camera while the pictures are taken, other times the patient lies on a table which passes over the camera. • How long will it take? The imaging portion of most studies requires approximately 1 hour. Bone scans require approximately 3 hours, since the patient must return for delayed imaging. All studies are performed with an on-site physician to monitor quality control and ensure tha
