Nuclear medicine tests require passing radioisotopes in the patient's body normally via intravenous needles. The radiation is injected only in small amount and that will not stay in the patient's body for long time.

Some of the nuclear medicine tests are as follows are described below.

The radiation inserted in the patient's arm, will enter the soft tissues of human body and help in capturing clear images by the gamma cameras. It is useful in detecting bone fractures, infection and bone tumor. Bone scanning is safe for all. However, pregnant women and feeding mother are restricted to use this method. Drinking plenty of water and emptying the bladder frequently before scanning will help to improve the quality of scanning images.

Nuclear medicine tests for diagnosing thyroid glands are taken by giving iodine isotopes in pill form or through injection one day before scanning. This will help in detecting the hyperactive or under active thyroid glands. This will take minimum one hour to complete. This test will not cause any side effects. But some people may experience vomiting, skin rash etc due to radiation.

Gallium is a form of radioactive compound, which is injected in the patient's vein through the arm to detect any infections in any part of the body. This is known as Gallium scan.

Nuclear stress test is taken to detect coronary artery disease. It helps in diagnosing the functioning of heart muscle, blood flow etc. Nuclear medicine test is taken at two levels, when the heart is at rest and at stress.

Gastric emptying is useful in detecting gastro paresis disease, which is common in diabetic patients.

Normally nuclear medicine tests do not require any special preparation. But sometimes the doctor will ask you to remain on empty stomach. This will enhance the clarity of images. The radiation required for these tests will differ according to the organs. Though there are number of radioisotopes available, Food and Drug administration approves only a few amongst them. The nuclear medicine tests show clear images than x-ray and CT scan.

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