Nuclear Medicine

Patient till be injected with a radioisotope. A brief 10-15 minute wait to allow isotope to circulate. Images will then be taken. Scan time – 15-30 minutes. Ultra-sound sometimes may follow.

A 2 day test. Patient must be NPO ( nothing by mouth ) for 4 to 6 hours for the first day. Patient must be NPO (nothing by mouth) for the first day. Patient must be off any and all thyroid medicines. Patient will be given by mouth a radioactive capsule and instructed not to eat or drink for 2 ½ - 3 hours. Patient will return 4 hours post ingestion of capsule for uptake and images. Scan time for 1st day can vary from 30 minutes – 1 hour. Patient will return on second day 24 hours post ingestion and 2nd day uptake obtained. 2nd day scan time 5-10 minutes.

Patient will be injected with radioisotope and allowed to leave for 2-3 hours. Patient will be instructed to drink 48-64 ounces of liquid and to empty bladder often. After the 2-3-hour wait, patient will return for imaging. Scan times varies for each patient; normally 30 minutes – 1 hour.

Patient brought and placed under camera and injected with radioisotope to image blood flow to a particular area of interest. Patient allowed to leave for 3 hours and instructed to drink 48-64 oz. of liquid and to empty bladder often. After the 3-hour wait, patient will return for imaging. Scan time varies for each patient; normally 30 minutes – 1 hour.

Patient must be NPO (nothing by mouth). Patient will have an IV and placed under nuclear camera. A radioisotope will be injected and images will be taken every 5 minutes until visualization of liver, ducts, gallbladder, and small bowel. May be used after gallbladder surgery to insure patency of common ducts to small bowel.

CCK is a drug used to cause contraction of gallbladder. Is useful with patients that have had normal gallbladder ultrasounds but still have pain. CCK allows for the determination of gallbladder ejection fraction. Scan time varies with patient. Normally 1- 1 ½ hours. Can last as long as 3 hours.

If CCK is unavailable, 16 oz. of whole milk can be used for replacement.

Patient should be NPO 4-6 hours prior to scan. Patient arrives and will be given radioactive oatmeal to eat with milk or orange juice of their choice. After consumption of oatmeal patient will be placed under camera. Images will be taken every 15 minutes for 2 hours.

Patient will be injected with radioisotope. Depending on patient’s history, patient must be imaged 4-6 hours, 24-hours, 48-hours, and possibly 96-hours post injection. Scan time is normally 1 - 1 ½ hours per day.

Patient will have an IV and placed on a stretcher. Patient will be given captopril and monitored for 1 hour for evaluation of blood pressure. After the 1-hour is up, patient will be placed under cameras and injected through IV with a radioisotope. Imaging time is 30 minutes. Patient may have to come back a 2nd day for baseline study.

Patient must be NPO. Patient arrives in Cardiopulmonary Department. Patient will have an IV and be hooked up to EKG and blood pressure monitor. Patient will walk on treadmill until heart rate reaches an appropriate rate determined by doctor. Radioisotope will be injected through IV. Patient will be allowed to leave and have something to eat. Patient will return at 3½ hour later to Nuclear Medicine for imaging. Imaging takes 15 minutes. Patient will then be injected with more radioactive material and be instructed to return 1½ hours later for another set of images that takes 15 minutes.

Patient must be NPO. Persantine is a chemical used to dilate vessels and cause the heart rate to increase. Used when patients are unable to walk or doctor feels patient will not be able to reach a high enough heart rate on treadmill. The patient will have an IV and be hooked up to EKG and blood pressure monitor. The patient will be given Cardiolite during the examination to visualize the heart muscle.

Patient will be placed under camera. A mask will be put over mouth and nose. A radioactive gas will be injected into mask for patient to breathe. This allows visualization of airflow to lungs. Patient will have to wear mask 3 minutes. After mask is removed, patient will be injected with a radioisotope that will allow visualization of blood flow to lungs.

Scan time – 30 minutes.