Bone Scan
A bone scan is a nuclear medicine exam that evaluates your bones to detect
arthritis, osteoporosis, fracture, sports injuries, other bone abnormalities
as a result of cancer, and possible infection of soft tissue or bone.
What to Bring
- Your physician order (your physician may have already sent this to us)
- Personal ID
- Insurance Cards
How to Prepare
- There is no special preparation for this exam.
- You may eat and drink the morning of the test.
- Do wear comfortable clothing with no metal and leave valuable jewelry at home.
- Please inform the technologist if you are pregnant.
- If you wear an on-body device (insulin pump, insulin regulators, Neulasta,
other chemo/insulin devices, etc.), you must inform your technologist.
What to Expect
- The technologist will explain the test and answer any questions you may have.
- You will be given a small amount of radioactive tracer (the imaging agent)
in your vein. There are no side effects to the injection.
- If your doctor is looking for certain types of fractures or infections,
you may have a quick picture taken at this time.
- Your technologist will ask you to drink plenty of fluids (24-32 ounces)
after the injection. This allows the radioactive tracer to be “cleared
out of your soft tissues” and gives us a clearer image of the bones.
- You will be instructed to return for the actual imaging 3-4 hours later
after the initial injection.
- During the imaging portion, you will be lying down on a cushioned table
for approximately 30-45 minutes depending on the extent of the test.
- If only a small area of interest is to be imaged, it may only take 15-30 minutes.
After the Exam
- There are no special instructions.
- Your study will be reviewed by a Radiologist and the results sent to your
physician. Your physician will discuss these results with you.