Is a specialty of current medicine, which is used for different tests and diagnoses, through these substances known as radiopharmaceuticals, you can perform an analysis. These radiopharmaceuticals are applied inside the organism. (the most commonly used is the intravenous)

It’s not dangerous, since the amounts of radiation that are applied are minimal, similar or less to the radiation used to take an x-ray.

It’s an isotope, a molecule that emits a small amount of radiation, which is used to visualize different parts of the body, depending on the test performed.

It’s an image capture equipment, used in nuclear medicine as an instrument for the scanning of diseases. It’s able to detect the injected radiopharmaceutical to see different organs.

Test will be done lying on a stretcher of the Gamma camera, which will begin to scan slowly without causing any discomfort to the patient.

They have a variable duration depending on their type. They can be performed immediately at the time of the appointment, or in other cases, you must wait 2 or more days depending on the radiopharmaceutical that is applied. The exam lasts 10 to 30 minutes in the Gamma camera.

In some cases it is necessary to have an empty stomach or, for most cases, to fast for at least 4 hours before the test. Especially in digestive studies, Cardiac Spect, and in case of thyroid uptake or Iodine I – 131 therapies, fasting is required for 4 hours and then waiting around 2 hour before eating something. The studies that don’t require fasting are the osseous, cerebellar, pulmonary, renal, among others.

The amounts administered, either by mouth or intravenously, are minimal. So minimal that they are hundreds of times less than the amounts that can cause allergies, so they don’t produce reactions to any person. Iodine can even be administered to people who are allergic to Iodine, without special precautions.

No, since they do not emit any type of radiation, for which they don’t have any danger.

Both children and elderly people can have the study without problems for their health and without special precautions.

However, it is not convenient for a pregnant woman to perform a study in nuclear medicine. While radiation doses without minimal, it is not good to expose the fetus to any type of radiation, especially during the first 3 months. If for any reason the study of nuclear medicine is essential, you should discuss it with your treating doctor for the corresponding authorization to give prior notice to the study in the nuclear medicine service.

Only in some cases it’s convenient to suspend medications prior to the study, especially in some studies to the thyroid gland or heart studies.

There’s no problem for a normal life after the test in terms of hygiene or type of food, except radiation protection measures for children and pregnant women for 24 hours (not being around them in this period, just as a precaution) and of strict isolation in cases of therapies, such as Iodine – 131.

Only in cases of iodine I – 131 therapy, there must be complete isolation at the patient’s home for at least 2 to 3 days or more according to the amount of radiation used in the treatment.

Generally, you should avoid being around pregnant women or children under 5 years old for the next 24 hours after receiving the radiopharmaceutical. Although, this is just a precautionary measure.