Nuclear Scanning

This is also known as a radionuclide scan. It involves having a chemical put into your body that can be picked up by a scanner, similar to having a contrast dye for a CT or MRI scan. But in this case, the chemical – known as a tracer or radionuclide – is radioactive. The tracer gives off a type of radioactivity called gamma rays.

What is Nuclear Medicine?

Nuclear medicine uses trace amounts of radioactive material to diagnose disease. Radiopharmaceuticals are injected into veins and are detected by a special type of camera that works with computers to provide very precise pictures of the area being imaged.

For example, if you have radioactive iodine injected into a vein, the tissues of your thyroid gland quickly absorb it. So, it is used to take images of your thyroid gland. The dose of radioactivity you get is very low (about the same as you get from an x-ray). Almost all of it leaves your body within a week.