We are all exposed to natural background radiation every day. This comes from the ground, building materials around us, the food we eat and the sun. Each nuclear medicine scan will give you a small extra radiation dose on top of the usual background exposure. The amount depends on the type of scan you are having and ranges from the equivalent of a few days natural background radiation to a few years.
The radiation doses used for nuclear medicine scans are many hundreds or thousands of times too low to produce immediate harmful effects, such as skin burns or radiation sickness. The only effect known to be possible from these low doses, is a very small increase in the chance of cancer occurring many years or even decades after the exposure. This is in addition to the one in two chance we all have of getting cancer in our life time.
If you have been asked to have a nuclear medicine scan, further information will be provided to you in a very detailed patient information leaflet that will be sent to you with your appointment letter.
Your doctor weighs up the risks and benefits of having the scan before making a referral for a Nuclear Medicine test. They believe that the benefits of having this scan outweigh any possible small risks from the radiation. The Nuclear Medicine Department has a legal obligation to ensure that the radiation dose to you and others in contact with you is kept as low as possible. We therefore advise the following:
If you have any concerns or are unable to comply with these restrictions please contact the department.
Please see the table below for some examples:
Investigation |
Radiation dose (mSv) |
Lifetime additional risk of cancer per examination |
Dental X ray |
0.005 |
1 in 4 000 000 |
Chest X ray |
0.014 |
1 in 1 400 000 |
Mag3 Kidney Scan |
0.7 |
1 in 250 000 |
UK average annual radiation dose |
2.7 |
1 in 28 000 |
DMSA Renal Scan |
0.7 |
1 in 28,000 |
CT scan of the Chest |
6.6 |
1 in 7000 |
DaTscan |
4.6 |
1 in 4,300 |
CT scan of the Spine |
10.0 |
1 in 3000 |
Bone Scan |
6.4 + 4.6 |
1 in 1,700 |