Nuclear Scans

Nuclear scanning uses radioactive substance to see structures and function inside your body. Nuclear scans involve a special camera that detects energy coming from the radioactive matter, called a tracer. Before the test, you be given the tracer, often by an injection. Although tracers are radioactive, the amount is small. During most nuclear scan tests, you lie still on a scan table while the camera creates images. Most scans take 20 to 45 minutes.

Nuclear scans can help doctors identify many situations, counting cancers, injuries and infection. They can and show how organs like your heart and lungs are functioning.