Nuclear Medicine Imaging

Nuclear medicine images provide physicians with physiological and functional information. This means nuclear imaging allows physicians to see how a part of the body is functioning, providing more definitive screening and treatment staging for many diseases.

Nuclear imaging is an important diagnostic tool for detecting and treating lung, breast, liver and other types of cancer. It is also extremely effective in creating cardiac, bone, pulmonary, brain, thyroid, and renal images.
Depending on the type of nuclear medicine scan is required, a patient can spend between 30 minutes and three hours in the Nuclear Medicine department at Piedmont Henry Hospital. During the procedure a radioactive tracer is administered to the patient. The tracer decays resulting in the emission of gamma rays. Images are displayed on a computer screen offering a detailed look at what is happening inside the patient’s body. After careful evaluation, a physician can then recommend treatment options or regimens, in some cases reducing or eliminating the need for more invasive testing or procedures like biopsies.

Patients are able to resume normal activity following a nuclear medicine procedure.

Nuclear Medicine Test Preparation

Lexiscan myocardial perfusion scan
Allow five hours. Preparation: Do not eat or drink four hours prior to the test. Do not take drugs that contain caffeine or theophylline three days prior to the test. If you are uncertain regarding whether any of your medications may be discontinued, consult you physician. Do not take for 24 hours prior to the test: foods or beverages that contain caffeine including tea, coffee, decaffeinated coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, cocoa, etc. No smoking in the morning.

Bone scan
Allow four to six hours with a long break between initial phase and final images. Drink extra fluids.

Brain SPECT scan
Allow two hours. No preparation. Patient must be able to lay still.

Cisternography
Test performed over four days. No preparation.

Gallium scan
Allow one hour on the day of injection and approximately two hours for images taken at three days and five to six days post injection. Take over the counter laxative the night before. Need to be on liquid diet until the end of the study.

Gastric emptying scan
Allow three hours. Preparation: No food or fluid after midnight the night before the exam.

Gated cardiac blood pool scans (MUGA scan)
Allow two hours. No smoking after midnight.

Hemangioma scan
Allow three hours. No smoking after midnight.

Hepatobiliary scan
Allow two hours. Preparation: No food or fluid during the four hours before the exam. Discontinue narcotic medications atleast four hours, preferably 24 hours, before the exam. If you are uncertain regarding whether any of your medication needs to be discontinued, consult your physician.

Iodine - 131 therapy
Allow one hour. Do not eat during the four hours prior.

Labeled white blood cell scan
Allow an entire day with two breaks between exam phases. No preparation.

Liver/spleen scan
Allow two hours. No preparation.

Octreoscan
Allow six hours on day 1 and three hours on day 2. Mild laxative night of day 1.

Parathyroid scan
Allow four hours. No preparation.

Renal scan
Allow two hours. Stop ACE inhibitors X 1 week in consultation with your physician. Drink extra fluids prior to the procedure.

Testicular scan
Allow one hour. No preparation.

Thyroid iodine uptake and scan
Allow three hours the first day and a half-hour the second day. Preparation: Do not take thyroid hormone preparations (Synthroid, levoxyl, Armour thyroid) for one month and antithyroid medications (PTU, Tapazole) for one week. If you are uncertain regarding wheather any of your medications may be discontinued, consult your physician. No food or fluid after midnight the night before the first day of testing only.

Treadmill exercise myocardial perfusion scan
Allow five hours. Preparation: Do not drink during the four hours prior to the test. If you are uncertain regarding wheather any of your medications may be discontinued, consult your physician. Do not smoke on the morning of the test. Wear loose and comfortable clothing and comfortable walking shoes or sneakers.

Ventilation perfusion (VQ) lung scan
Allow one hour. No smoking after midnight.