Read this once before your appointment. It covers fasting, medicines, how long you will be here, and what to bring.
Call or send the prescription on WhatsApp. We confirm the study, the cost and a time, and tell you the fasting instructions for that particular tracer.
A day or two aheadCome about fifteen minutes early with previous scans, biopsy reports and your prescription. Blood sugar is checked before an FDG study.
15 minutesA small dose of radiotracer is given through a vein. You then rest in a quiet room while it collects in the tissues. Moving or talking during this period changes the images.
45 to 60 minutesThe table moves slowly through an open ring. There is no tunnel around your head, no injection of dye and no pain. Most whole-body studies finish in under half an hour.
20 to 30 minutesImages are read in-house by the nuclear medicine consultant. Most reports are ready the same evening and can be collected or sent digitally.
Same eveningFor most FDG PET CT studies you should not eat for six hours before the appointment. Plain water is allowed and encouraged.
Tell us when booking. Blood sugar has to be within range before the tracer is given, so the timing of your medicine or insulin may need adjusting.
Loose clothing with no metal saves changing time. Bring everything the reporting doctor may need to compare against.
The tracer leaves the body naturally within a few hours. Drink water freely to clear it faster.
No. The only needle involved is the one used to give the tracer, the same as a routine blood test. The scan itself is silent and you feel nothing.
The dose is small and carefully calculated for your body weight, and it is used only because the information it gives changes treatment decisions. The department will explain the dose for your particular study before it is given.
Plan for two to three hours for a whole-body PET CT. Most of that is the quiet waiting period after the injection. The scan itself is usually twenty to thirty minutes.
Not for an FDG PET CT. Six hours of fasting is required because sugar in the blood competes with the tracer and spoils the images. Plain water is allowed.
No. The PET CT ring is short and open at both ends, so your head is not enclosed the way it is in an MRI tunnel. Tell the staff beforehand and they will talk you through it.
Yes, and for routine studies you can drive yourself home afterwards. Many people still prefer to bring someone along, and a relative can wait outside the scan room.
Most reports are ready the same evening. You can collect the film and report from the centre or have the report sent digitally.
Tell the department before anything is booked. Nuclear studies are usually avoided in pregnancy, and breastfeeding needs a specific pause after some tracers. Alternatives will be discussed with your referring doctor.
Call the department. Someone who actually runs the scans will answer your question.