Bone scans are an imaging test that is used most of the time to assess the distribution of bone formation or remodeling activity throughout the skeleton, and points of inflammation caused by infections, arthritis, fractures, and changes in blood circulation can be identified.evaluate bone prostheses or look for the causes of bone pain, for example.
To perform this test, a radiopharmaceutical, such as technetium or gallium, which is a radioactive substance, must be injected into the vein and attracted by bone tissue with disease or activity after approximately 2 hours, which can be recorded with a special camera, which detects radioactivity and creates an image of the skeleton.
- Bone scans are initiated by injecting into the radiopharmaceutical vein.
- Which.
- Although radioactive.
- Is performed in a safe dose for use in humans.
- Then.
- Wait for the period of absorption of the substance by the bones.
- Which takes between 2 and 4 hours.
- And the person should be informed about oral hydration between the time of injection of the radiopharmaceutical and obtaining the image.
After waiting, the patient must urinate to empty his bladder and lie down on the stretcher to begin the examination, which is performed on a special camera that records images of the skeleton on a computer, highlighting the places where the radiopharmaceutical was most concentrated.which means an intense metabolic reaction in the region, as shown in the image.
The bone scan may be tested for a specific area or for the entire body, and the test usually lasts between 30 and 40 minutes, not requiring the patient to fast, take special precautions or stop medication, however, in 24 hours of the exam, the patient should not come into contact with pregnant women or infants , as they may be sensitive to the radiopharmaceutical removed during this period.
In addition, there is a three-phase bone scan, which is performed when evaluating the images of the phased scan, so the first phase evaluates the blood flow in the bone structures, in the second phase the blood balance in the bone structure is evaluated and finally, radiopharmaceutical capture images are evaluated by the bones.
Bone scans may be indicated to identify the following situations
This test is cond a contract indicated in pregnant women or during the lactation period and should only be done after medical consultation. In addition to bone scans, there are other types of scans that are performed on different organs of the body, to identify various diseases. Learn more about scanning.
The result of the bone scan is provided by the doctor and usually consists of a report describing what was observed and the images captured during the exam; When analyzing the images, your doctor tries to look at so-called hot regions, which are those with the most obvious color, indicating that a certain region of the bone absorbed more radiation, suggesting an increase in local activity.
Cold areas, which appear lighter in the images, are also evaluated by the doctor, and indicate that there has been less absorption of the radiopharmaceutical by the bones, which may mean a decrease in blood flow to the site or the presence of a benign tumor, for example.