PET/CT Scan & Nuclear Medicine

You should:

• Wear comfortable clothes with no metal zippers or buttons
• Avoid exercise and not engage in any form of strenuous or vigorous activity for 24 hours before your exam; for example, golfing, swimming, heavy lifting and housework

Any additional preparation for this test varies depending on the purpose of the scan. Expect a call from our preregistration staff who will instruct you on how to prepare for your exam.

• Plan on being at the office for 1 ½ to 2 hours (registration, injection and scan duration are included in the time approximation)
• You will receive an intravenous (IV) injection of the radio-active pharmaceutical
• The radio-active tracer will take approximately 60 minutes to travel through your body and be absorbed by the tissue under study. During this time, you will be in a comfortable recliner and private room. You will be asked to rest quietly and avoid significant movement or talking, which may alter the localization of the administered substance
• You will be positioned on the PET scanner table and asked to lie still during your exam
• The table will move slowly through the large opening of the PET scanner
• Scanning of the brain takes less than ten minutes. Scanning of the body takes between 15 and 25 minutes
• Usually, there are no restrictions on daily routine after the test. You should drink plenty of liquids to flush the radio-active substance from your body

What will I experience during the procedure?

• When given the intravenous injection, you will feel a slight prick. However, you will not feel the substance in your body
• You will be made as comfortable as possible on the exam table before you are positioned in the PET scanner for the test
• Your technologist can see, hear and speak with you at all times during your scan

The small amount of radiotracer in your body will lose its radio-activity over time through the natural process of radio-active decay. Following the test, it may also pass out of your body through your urine or stool during the first few hours or days. You should not feel any side effects and be able to return to your normal daily activities directly after the scan. We recommend that you hydrate thoroughly for 48 hours after the scan to help void the medications.

Keep your distance from children and pregnant women for approximately six hours after a PET scan.

Preparation for your exam varies depending on which part of your body is to be scanned.  If the exam is to evaluate the stomach, you may be required to refrain from eating before the test. If the exam is to evaluate the kidneys, you may need to drink plenty of water before the test. The individual who schedules your exam will explain the preparation process.

The day before your appointment, a staff member from our office will call you to confirm. If you need to cancel or reschedule, it must be done no later than one day before your appointment. The radio-active substance used in your test is a special-order and cannot be canceled within less than 24 hours prior to your exam.

 Generally, you are not required to change out of your clothes for a Nuclear Medicine procedure. However, for some studies, you are required to remove metal objects, such as loose change, pocket knives, belt buckles and some jewelry. As with any study in radiology, you should tell the technologist if there is a chance that you are pregnant or if you are breastfeeding.

Although imaging time can vary, the exam generally takes between 20 and 60 minutes.

• A radiopharmaceutical, known as a tracer, either is administered intravenously or orally. The type of radiopharmaceutical used and if the imaging is conducted immediately or several hours later depends upon the type of exam you’re undergoing
• For most nuclear scans, you lie on a table and a nuclear imaging camera captures the image of the examined area. The camera either is suspended over or below the exam table or in a large donut-shaped machine similar to a CT scanner. While the images are being captured, you must remain as still as possible
• You may hear low-level or buzzing noises from the machine
• Most of the radio-activity is expelled from your body in urine or stool. The rest simply disappears over time

You should not feel any side effects and be able to return to your normal daily activities directly after the scan. We recommend that you hydrate thoroughly for 48 hours after the scan to help void the medications.

The individual who schedules your appointment will ask if you are allergic to iodine.  Prior to your exam, you are requested to visit our office. During your visit, you will receive two iodine pills (which you are required to take one (1) hour prior to your appointment on the day of your exam).

The radio-active medicine to be injected is expensive and a special-order, and therefore cannot be canceled within 48 hours of your appointment. With this fact in mind, a few days prior to your exam, we will call you to confirm your appointment. If we cannot reach you, we may have to reschedule to a later date. You should wear comfortable clothing and be prepared and able to lie still for up to 45 minutes in a confined imaging environment. 

You are required to take your two iodine pills one (1) hour prior to your exam appointment time. You will receive an intravenous injection containing the radio-active imaging tracer I-123 DaTscan (typically administered in the arm). Images will then be taken four hours after the injection and you are allowed to leave the facility during that time.

When you return, and prior to imaging, you will be asked to remove hearing aids and any devices that contain metal from the neck up.  You will lie on a table where you will be scanned by a Nuclear Medicine camera. The camera detectors will move closely around only your head. Capturing the images will take between 30 and 45 minutes.

You should not feel any side effects and be able to return to your normal daily activities directly after the scan. We recommend that you hydrate thoroughly for 48 hours after the scan to help void the medications.

• Wear comfortable clothes with no metal zippers or buttons.
• Avoid exercise and do not engage in any form of strenuous or vigorous activity for 24 hours before your exam; for example, golfing, swimming, heavy lifting, and housework.
• Expect a call from our pre-registration staff who will instruct you on how to prepare for your exam.

• Plan on being at the office for approximately 1 hour (registration, injection and scan duration are included in the time approximation).
• You will be positioned on the PET scanner table and asked to lie motionless during your exam.
• During the scan, you will receive an intravenous (IV) injection of the radioactive pharmaceutical.
• The table will move slowly through the large opening of the PET scanner.
• The scan takes approximately 25 minutes.
• Usually, there are no restrictions on daily routine after the test. You should drink plenty of liquids to flush the radioactive substance from your body.

What will I experience during the procedure?

• When given the intravenous injection, you will feel a slight prick. However, you will not feel the substance in your body.
• You will be made as comfortable as possible on the exam table before you are positioned in the PET scanner for the test.
• Your technologist can see, hear and speak with you at all times during your scan.

• The small amount of radiotracer in your body will lose its radioactivity over time through the natural process of radioactive decay. Following the test, it may also pass out of your body through your urine or stool during the first few hours or days.
• You should not feel any side effects and should be able to return to your normal daily activities directly after the scan.
• We recommend that you hydrate thoroughly for 48 hours after the scan to help void the medications.
• Keep your distance from children and pregnant women for approximately six hours after a PET scan.