Nuclear Medicine Testing


Nuclear Medicine is the use of very small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose and sometimes treat disease.  It is a safe and effective way to detect a wide variety of conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis and infections.

To prepare for the test you must talk to your doctor for specific instructions, the majority of testing does not allow eating, drinking, smoking, consumption of caffeine, or even chewing gum.  It is very important to follow your doctors instructions.  Please contact the nuclear medicine department with any questions regarding your test at (740) 439-8023, or the radiology nursing staff for any question regarding your medications at (740) 439-8085.

When you arrive at the medical center go to the Outpatient Registration desk (located on the ground floor), to register for your test.  You should arrive approximately 30 minutes prior to your appointment time.

 
After being registered a registered nuclear medicine technologist will come to the waiting area and escort you to the testing area, no visitors are permitted in the testing area.  The technologist will ask you several questions concerning your history.  First, you will have the radioactive material given in one of several different ways: injection or IV, capsules, liquid, food, or breathing in the medicine.  The material then travels to specific organs and tissues where it allows the imaging to take place.  Special equipment is then used to produce the images, which will be read by the radiologist and a report will be forwarded to your physician.

When you are finished with your exam and released to go home, be sure to drink plenty of fluids. The isotopes lose their radioactivity very quickly and pass out of the body within 24 hours, the increased water intake will help to speed this process along. If you are pregnant or nursing please notify your doctor before completing this type of test.
 
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