1-2 days prior to your scheduled test, someone from our center will contact you to go over specific instructions. Please inform us at that time if you are taking any medications. It is extremely important to inform us if you are diabetic.
Before the scan, you’ll get tracers through a vein in your arm, through a solution you drink, or in a gas you inhale. Your body needs time to absorb the tracers, so you’ll wait about an hour before the scan begins.
Next, you’ll undergo the scan. This involves lying on a narrow table attached to a PET/CT machine, which looks like a giant letter “O.” The table glides slowly into the machine so that the scan can be conducted.
You’ll need to lie still during the scan. The technician will let you know when it is that you need to remain still. You may be asked to hold your breath for short periods. You’ll hear buzzing and clicking noises during the test.
When all the necessary images have been recorded, you will slide out of the machine. The test is then complete.
After the test, you can go about your day as normal unless your doctor gives you other instructions. Drink plenty of fluids after the test to help flush the tracers out of your system. Generally, all tracers leave your body after two days.
Your physician will receive the results of your PET/CT scan within 24 to 48 hours.
a small amount of paperwork needs to be completed
your medical history will be reviewed
a small amount of radioactive glucose will be given through an IV injection
you will be required to lie as still as possible for around 35 minutes
your doctor will receive images and results once our radiologist has reviewed your scan