About Your Appointment
To ensure that you are fully aware of what will take place during your appointment, we have compiled the following information.
How is it done?
Your doctor has arranged for you to have a PET/CT scan. This scan involves you receiving an injection (usually in the arm) of a low-dose radioactive form of glucose, which allows the measuring of the activity of cells in different parts of the body. After a rest period of about an hour, a scan is then carried out which is painless and usually takes about 30 minutes. The scan is a sophisticated type of functional imaging that creates a three-dimensional picture of the whole of the body, usually from eyes to thighs. The images taken produce a detailed picture of the internal anatomy and metabolism. These images will allow your doctor to plan your treatment much more accurately.
What preparation do I need?
You should not eat for six hours prior to your scan appointment time.
Prior to your appointment you should drink plenty of plain water, but please avoid water which is flavoured or diluted with cordial.
Please continue to take your usual medication on the day of the scan including pain killers. Bring your medication with you should it coincide with your scan time.
Please leave all jewellery at home and wear comfortable clothes that contain little metal, a tracksuit is ideal.
Please avoid strenuous physical activity for 24 hours before the scan e.g. Horse riding, exercising in the gym.
Please contact the Centre if:
- You are pregnant or think that you might be pregnant
- You are breast feeding
- You are a diabetic
- You have had problems with injections in the past
- You suffer from claustrophobia
What happens on the day of the scan?
You can expect to be at the Nottingham PET/CT Centre between two to three hours. You should arrive 15 minutes before your scan appointment time.
If you realise that you will be late or unable to attend the unit, please contact the Nottingham PET/CT Centre on 0115 993 6624.
After you have been greeted at reception, a technologist will take you to a private area and take a short medical history from you to assist the doctor who reads the scan.
They will then explain the procedure. Please feel free to ask any questions regarding the PET/CT scan at this point.
The technologist will then inject a small amount of 18FDG (low-dose radioactive form of glucose) into a vein in your arm. You will then rest for approximately 1 hour prior to your scan.
You will then be asked to visit the toilet and then be taken through for your scan, which will last approximately 30 minutes.
You will then be free to leave the PET/CT unit.
What precautions do I need to take after the scan?
Please avoid prolonged close contact with children and pregnant women for six hours after the scan.
How much radiation do I receive from the scan?
Equivalent to a period of a few years natural background radiation.
What do I do after the scan?
After the scan you can eat normally so please bring something with you to consume on your way home.
Drink plenty of fluids for the rest of the day to help flush the remaining radioactivity from your system.
How do I get my results?
The scan is usually reviewed within 48 hours and the result will be sent to the doctor who referred you for the PET/CT scan.
The staff at the PET/CT unit cannot issue the results to you.
Important information
The 18FDG (the radioactive form of glucose) has a very short half-life and therefore cannot be kept in stock. Production of every dose occurs on the morning of the scan. The manufacturing process is extremely complex and subsequently, on rare occasions, the production may be unsuccessful or of low yield with the consequence that we will have to cancel your appointment. Such incidents are unfortunately out of our control and whilst we will always do our best to honour your appointment, inevitably there will be occasions when this is not possible. In the event of this occurring, we will endeavour to inform you of the cancellation as soon as possible, but this would normally be on the same day as the scan. We will of course issue you with the next available appointment date that is convenient to you.
Friends & Family
You can bring friends or relatives to the Nottingham PET/CT Centre but they must wait in the waiting room during your appointment. Please do not bring children or pregnant friends, because the PET/CT scan uses radiation.
To download the Nottingham PET/CT Centre Patient Information Leaflet click here.
