1 - 2 days before the scan
Stop medications if required
Morning of scan
Fast if required
The scan
30 - 60 mins procedure
Up to 4hrs later
Delayed imaging (time provided on day)
All imaging complete
Time to go home
For most nuclear medicine scans you can eat and drink normally before the procedure. If you need to fast, you’ll be told at the time of booking.
Most medications can be taken as normal with plain water. For some tests, such as cardiac or thyroid, you might need to stop some medication. You'll be told this when making the booking. Please bring a list of your medications to the appointment.
X-rays and CT provide structural information about an organ. Nuclear medicine is used to assess how the organ or bodily system is working. The imaging modalities are often complementary, each providing a piece of the puzzle to help diagnosis or assessment.
Comfortable clothes with no metal. You may be asked to change into a gown and remove jewellery prior to the scan.
Nuclear Medicine tests are considered to be a safe procedure. The radioactive tracer only remains in the body for a few hours. The radiation dose from the tracer varies for each test but is similar to the dose from a CT scan.
You may be asked to avoid close contact with pregnant women and small children for a few hours after the scan. It's important to tell us at the time of booking if you're pregnant, breastfeeding, or the primary/sole carer for small children so we can discuss special arrangements.
There are no side effects to the test. You can safely drive, eat, and drink as normal after the scan.