Bone Scan
A bone scan is an imaging study of your bones. It is used to identify and diagnose bone problems. You may have this test to check for:
• Cancer in your bones.
• A broken or cracked bone.
• Bone infection.
• A cause of bone pain.
• Certain other bone diseases.
For this procedure, a small amount of a radioactive substance (radiotracer) is injected into your blood. Your bones will absorb the radiotracer for a short time. The radiotracer gives off radioactive energy. This energy can be captured by a type of camera that makes images of your bones (scintigrams). Abnormal bones will take up too much or too little of the radiotracer. This will show up in the images.
LET YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER KNOW ABOUT:
• Any allergies
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• If you are breastfeeding.
RISKS AND COMPLICATIONS
Generally, this is a safe procedure. However, problems may occur, including:
• Exposure to radiation (small amount).
• Bleeding at the injection site.
• Infection at the injection site. This is rare.
• Allergic reaction to the radiotracer. Severe reactions may cause a rash or breathing trouble. These reactions are rare.
BEFORE THE PROCEDURE
• Ask your health care provider about changing or stopping your regular medicines. This is especially important if you are taking diabetes medicines or blood thinners.
• Do not take any medicines that contain bismuth for 4 days before the scan.
• Do not have X-rays that use barium contrast material for 4 days before the scan.
• Do not wear metallic jewelry to the scan.
• Do not drink very much for 4 hours before the scan. You will need to drink several glasses of water at the beginning of the scan.
PROCEDURE
• An IV tube will be inserted into one of your veins.
• You will lie down on an exam table.
• The radiotracer will be injected through the IV tube. You may feel a cold sensation in your arm.
• Some pictures may be taken right after the
In the Nuclear Medicine department, the two most common procedures performed are bone scans and VQ scans (ventilation/perfusion scan). During a Nuclear medicine procedure, the patient is either injected or inhales radioisotopes, which then causes the patient to become the source of radiation that is picked up by a gamma camera. A VQ scan is a two phase scan that requires the patient to be injected with a radioisotope and inhale a gas infused with radioisotopes. This scan is used to determine the blood and air flow of the lungs and detect possible pulmonary emboli. The radioisotopes used for this exam include radioactive Xenon gas and technetium. As for the bone scan the patient is
After the images are taken, a radiologist can manipulate the digital images by inverting, magnifying, and changing the contrast to double-check the site of the lesion. The computer will then graph the site of the lesion by using x, y, and z coordinates. Once the imaging has been done, the next step is setting up the needle.
The needle is placed on the cranial side of the transducer and advanced parallel long axis of transducer. The needle entry site is almost 1 cm lateral to the transducer. The angle between the transducer and the needle should be about 45 degrees. The needle is seen hyperechoic line in the image area .The needle should target the head of radius at the radiocapitallar joint (fig 2). Passing through the capsule followed by loss of resistance is easily felt. The needle reaching the radial head should be seen and should be feel the softness of cartilage. Once the needle is in position, contrast agents or drugs can be injected. The stretching of the capsule can be seen during injection.3,6
On one hand, The Bone scintigraphy images was evaluated based on common criteria such as morphology, intensity, localization, number of lesions detected. The bone metastasis was detected depended on the absorption of FDG. When the uptake in a particular area of the bone was higher than the uptake in normal bone, the metastasis considered positive. Areas that didn’t show abnormal absorption of FDG were counted as negative for metastasis.
Radiotracers help doctors diagnose and evaluate the degree of severity of the disease. The tracers are injected, swallowed, or inhaled. Special cameras used by the doctor to detect molecular information then detect the emissions from the radiotracers. One of the most important procedures in nuclear medicine is the MRI, or the magnetic resonance
damage. Because of this newer dyes are being produced that pose a lower risk to the kidneys of a patient. As with any X-ray, there is some exposure to radiation, however according to the Cancer Council Australia, the risk of developing a cancer from the minimal radiation exposure from a CAT scan is extremely minimal. Doctors typically ask patients to fast for two to four hours before the scan as well as advising that they may want to wear comfortable clothing because a CAT scan involves the patient lying down still for a typically long period of time. As with most diagnostic tools, a patient may be required to drink a large volume of oral contrast, that in turn allows doctors to better see the lining of the organs and is particularly helpful
My imaging modality is on Bone Densitometry. Before I go into great detail about this modality I would first like to talk about what exactly is Bone Densitometry and explain the history of it and how it became about so that we can understand how we use it today. Bone Densitometry is a noninvasive procedure that allows us to measure bone mineral density. This modality and procedure plays a crucial part in being able to diagnose Osteoporosis. It can provide us with vital information that can diagnose this pathology in its early stages as well as improving our overall health by being able to monitor therapy and predict the risk of fractures. The development of Bone Densitometry started over hundreds of years but only in the past couple decades have we seen major advancements in the use and technology. Early developments believe it or not started in dentistry with plain radiographs of the mandible over hundreds of years ago. The problem with that though is that plain radiographs had limited ability in the determination of bone density. According to our text book. “A bone loss of at least forty percent must occur before it can be visualized by the unaided eye.” (Adler, A., Carlton, R., & Carlton.,. (2012). Principles of radiographic imaging.. Delmar Publishers.) In the 1930’s efforts to define bone loss were enhanced with radiographic absorptiometry(RA). A step wedge of known densities were imaged with extremities to be able to more accurately determine bone mass. As years passed
Some types of tests that are used are like an x-ray is a way to create a picture of the structures inside of the body using a small amount of radiation.And a bone scan uses a radioactive tracer to look at the inside of the bones. The tracer is injected into a patient’s vein. It collects in areas of the bone and is detected by a special
It is up to you to get the results of your test. Ask your health care provider, or the department that is doing the test, when your results will be ready.
○ You may be asked to avoid all forms of caffeine for 24 hours before your procedure or as told by your health care provider.
The effects of radiation can be hazardous to any part of the human body. In this guide I will explain the advantages, and disadvantages of x-ray radiation. I will also discuss the technological advances that we have today then of what we had the past on the human body during radiation exposure. I will explain preventions of exposure and safety precautions that we as dental assistants as well as patients can follow to stay safe.
The nurse should ensure that the patient remains well hydrated prior to the procedure. The nurse also instructs the patient to void immediately before the exam. In addition, the nurse marks the locations of the appropriate peripheral pulses with a felt-tip pen. Also, prior to the procedure the nurse should further prepare the patient by instructing him to remain immobile during the examination in addition to explaining to the patient possible sensations that could be felt during the procedure, which include a brief feeling of warmth in the face, behind the eyes, jaw, teeth, tongue, lips, and a metallic taste once the contrast agent is injected.
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a diagnostic test that uses large magnets, radio frequencies, and a computer to make images of organs and structures within the body. This test outlines the extent of the tumor within the bone and joint and the relationship of the tumor to the muscles, nerves and blood vessels.
What I learned from our guest speaker Alan, which chose nuclear medicine as is modality, the first day you begin in nuclear medicine is by using gamma cameras (QC), to perform a radioactive trace. Before a procedure is perform on a patient, a procedure is done on the imaging unit called cobalt disk or technesium. This procedure would flush the camera source and tell you if your photomultipliers tubes are working properly for an exam. Radioisotopes are used in nuclear medicine by injecting an MVP known as phosphate into the body with the help of a syringe. In the case of a bone scan, this radioactive material called phosphate is introduced into the body and absorbed by the bones, preparing this procedure for a bone scan after three hours. Such
A gamma Camera detects gamma rays emitted by a radiopharmaceutical in the patient’s body. The camera reveals the distribution of radioactive material in a patient and this distribution is determined by the uptake of radiopharmaceutical, which is dependent on the function of the body. For example, in bone scan, technetium-99 m is injected into the patient’s body, this travels through the blood, and it’s metabolised and accumulated in the body.