The Imaging Center is one of the few privately owned facilities in the St. Louis area that offers Nuclear Medicine testing. It uses a much smaller dose of radiation than traditional x-rays. The information provided by nuclear medicine examinations is unique and often unattainable using other imaging procedures. For many diseases, nuclear medicine scans yield the most useful information needed to make a diagnosis. Furthermore, Nuclear medicine is less expensive and may yield more precise information than exploratory surgery.

What exactly is Nuclear Medicine?

Nuclear Medicine is a special form of imaging that has been practice since the 1940's.Nuclear medicine exams vary depending upon what care the patient needs, and are administered in different ways. Nuclear materials called radiopharmaceuticals are either injected, ingested or inhaled. They travel through the body and cause the organs to release gamma rays. These rays illuminate the organs or bones, and make them easily observable by a special gamma camera.


The Imaging Center offers the following Nuclear Medicine Tests:

• Cardiolite/Thallium Stress Tests
• Bone Scans (3 phase or Total Body)
• Thyroid Uptake
• Parathyroid Scans
• DISIDA Scans
• Liver/Spleen Scans
• MUGA Scans
• Spect Scans

Total Body Bone Scan
No preparation is required
Patient arrives early in the morning and receives and injection of radioisotope, which takes approximately 5 minutes. The patient returns 2-3 hours later for the actual scan, which takes approximately 1 hour.

3 Phase Bone Scan
No preparation is required.
Patient arrives early in the morning and receives an injection of radioisotope and an initial scan is done, which takes approximately 30 minutes. The patient returns 2-3 hours later for the next phase of scanning.

DISIDA Scan
Nothing to eat or drink for 4 hours before the exam
DISIDA Scan with Ejection Fraction Nothing to eat or drink for 4 hours before the exam

Liver/Spleen Scan
No preparation required.
This exam cannot be performed with thyroid uptake

MUGA Scan
No preparation is required.

Parathyroid Scan
No preparation is required.
Patient arrives early in the morning for initial images. Patient returns for next series of images in 2-4 hours. Patient returns for final images in 4-6 hours.

Thyroid Scan/Uptake Scan Patient should not take thyroid medications for 4-6 weeks before the exam. Patient should not have x-ray dye for 90 days before this exam.