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Department | | Nuclear Medicine |
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Procedure/Test Name | | Bone Scan |
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Procedure Overview/Details | | For additional information:
Radiology Info website
A Bone Scan in Nuclear Medicine is a procedure which involves two steps.
You are asked to arrive 3 hours before your actual scan to receive an injection of a small amount of radioactive tracer that is "tagged" to a calcium like material. Usually the tracer is injected in a vein in your arm In some instances, other sites of injection are used expecially for those patients that have difficult veins to find. The "radiopharmaceutical" has no side effects and because of this, you can be released from the department for 3 hours to give the calcium time to circulate and be taken up by the bone. There are no dietary restrictions, so you eat before and after the injection.
After the three hours have elapsed, you return to the Nuclear Medicine department for your scan. You are placed on a table and a head to toe scan is performed by a "gamma camera".
In most instances, a whole body study is performed since the amount of radiation you receive is constant so extra views of the skeleton can be taken if the Radiologists desires.
A normal bone scan has symmetrical and uniform uptake of the tracer. An abnormal bone scan will appear as increased uptake of the tracer where bone formation is occuring faster than the surrounding bone.
Also, if warrented a SPECT study may be performed. The camera rotates around you, allowing for a very detailed image. This would take about 30 minutes.
The scan takes about one hour to complete. |
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Preparation | | There is no preparation for this test. You should bring any previous x-rays or previous bone scan's to your appointment. |
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After Procedure Instructions | | There are no special instructions to follow after your test. |
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Directions for Departments | | Directions from PARKING RAMP (Preferred Entrance):
Enter the six story parking ramp on College Avenue. No matter where you park, take the elevator to the third floor. Once on the third floor, you can enter the Robert C. Neldberg building using the large set of automatic doors. Once in the building, continue walking down the hallway until you reach the enclosed skywalk that will take you across the street. Cross College Avenue by this skywalk and turn left at the first hallway. Take the elevators “R,S,T” to the first floor. Proceed straight to the first hallway and turn left. Radiology office window is on your right.
Directions from PARKING LOT A:
Park in Parking Lot A (the parking lot which is to the east of the Robert C. Neldberg building, 580 W. College Avenue). Directly across the street is the “East Entrance”, this is labeled by a brown and white sign. Enter through the East Entrance and go to the main doors directly in front of you. Once in the hallway, take a right. Go all the way to the end of this hallway, and then take a left. Continue down this hallway until you reach the elevators labeled G&H on your right hand side. Take these elevators up one floor to the first floor. Radiology is on your left. Check in at the Radiology office window. |
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