Nuclear Medicine

Collage of three images. The first image shows two nuclear medicine technologists. The second image features a member of staff preparing a patient for their scan. The third image shows a scan being reviewed.

Your journey

All appointments are sent as a letter by post. However, for short notice appointments we may contact you by phone. We may also contact you by phone to confirm you are attending your appointment, as certain scans require us to order in radiopharmaceuticals a couple weeks in advance.

If you wish to change or cancel your appointment, you should phone the department on 01483 406701.

Please read your letter and patient information leaflet carefully, as these will tell you about preparation specific to your test.  If you do not follow this information, then we may need to rebook your appointment.

If you have any questions about your test, including timings then please contact our department directly, as we will know the correct and up to date information.

How do you receive the radioactive substance?

The radioactive substance is most commonly injected into a vein in your arm or the back of your hand. For our lymph injections we inject near to the area we are looking at. Some more specific scans may require you to take a pill or inhale a radioactive gas.

Does the scan happen straight away?

Nuclear Medicine Technologist preparing a patient for their scan

Not always. Sometimes we have to wait a few hours after we give the injection. The radioactive tracer may take a little while to be picked up by the relevant part of your body, so imaging may take place a few hours later. In some cases, for example a three Phase Bone Scan or a Renogram (kidney scan), we do the injection while you lay down on the bed and start the scan straight away. Your particular test will be explained to you in your appointment letter, which is accompanied by a detailed patient information leaflet.

Use this link to find our patient information leaflets.

How does the scan take place?

Patient being prepared for a nuclear medicine scan.

You will be asked to lay down flat on the scanner bed. Once you are comfortable and in position we will begin the scan. If you are in a wheelchair or a bed we can help you transfer to the scanner bed safely using a hoist and/or a patslide. It is important that you stay still during your images.  If you are uncomfortable or cold, let us know and we will try our best to fix this before we start taking any images.

How are the pictures taken?

Picture of the Gamma camera in the Nuclear Medicine department

The scan is carried out by a specialist gamma camera. It has two detector plates which will be above and below you. They may move in close to you but won’t touch you. You will need to remain as still as possible to allow us to acquire high quality pictures. Depending on the scan you are having these two detectors can either stay in the same position and the scanner bed will just move away from them or they can rotate around you for a 3D image. Sometimes, at the end, we will also do a CT scan, which will give us a bit more information. 

How long does the scan last?

Picture of a patient before their Nuclear Medicine scan.

This will always depend on the scan you are having. For example, a SeHCAT study, which looks at how well your body absorbs bile salt, can take five minutes but a bone scan can take up to 45 minutes. Our longest scan is a HIDA, where we take a two hour picture. You will be told how long your scan is likely to take in your appointment letter and it will be explained to you again before you are injected with the radioactive substance.