• Frequently Asked Questions

    FAQ

The length of your exam will depend on what is ordered by your doctor, or the body part of interest.

Nuclear Medicine exams have a wide variety of scan times ranging from a few minutes to several hours and even up to a few days.

For more detailed information regarding the overall length of your exam, please call the scheduling department at (916) 734-0655 or the Nuclear Medicine technologist desk at (916) 703-2136

Many exams can be scheduled to be performed within 1-2 days after the exam is ordered and insurance authorization has been completed.  Certain specialty exams, including therapies, have constraints on radiotracer and/or equipment availability that must be accounted for and may take longer to schedule.  Urgent exam requests are prioritized whenever possible.

Allergy to radioactivity does not exist. In very rare cases there can be an allergic reaction to the chemical to which the radioactive isotope is attached to. If you should have an allergic reaction the Nuclear Medicine Physician will treat you. Be sure to notify the staff of any allergies or allergic reactions you have had in the past.

With most of the tracers used, the radioactivity will be almost completely gone by the following day.

Generally there is no risk in exposing others to meaningful amounts of radioactivity from diagnostic Nuclear Medicine imaging exams.  Patients undergoing therapeutic procedures in Nuclear Medicine will have specific guidelines to follow.

The amount of time needed to complete a Nuclear Medicine procedure depends on the type of test. Nuclear Medicine exams are generally performed in three steps, administering the radiotracer, acquiring the images and analyzing the results. The amount of time needed for the radiotracer to localize in the body part to be scanned can vary from several minutes to a few hours to even days.

Cardiac stress testing (either with a treadmill or by using a medication) has been proven to be effective and safe in hundreds of thousands of patients. The risks associated with cardiac stress testing are minimal. While no test is perfectly safe, the risk of major complications (such as heart attack, stroke or death) are rare and on the order of 1/5000 to 1/10000. During and after the test you will be continuously monitored by medical staff to ensure your safety.

No. Radiotracers are not the same as contrast agents used in CT or MRI scanning and are used for different purposes.

Iodine is a critical element for survival and is a necessary nutrient.  While you cannot be allergic to raw iodine, you can be sensitive to compounds that bind to iodione such as in shellfish or iodinated contrast used in some CT scan contrast agents.  The types of iodine used in Nuclear Medicine exams (I-123 and I-131) are in the raw form and pose no risk of allergy.

Images are usually read the same day and the results should be available to your physician within 24 hours or less.

Depending on what test you have, you might be asked to wear a gown.

Please leave all jewelry at home. Jewelry can potentially cause artifacts on the images.

A pacemaker or other implanted medical devices do not pose a problem for Nuclear Medicine imaging exams. However please let the staff know if you have any implanted medical devices or prosthesis.