What is a lung scan?
A lung scan is performed to look for blood clots in the lung.
What should I do to prepare for a lung scan?
There is no special preparation for this study.
What will happen during a lung scan and how will I get my results?
The patient will lie on a table positioned under the gamma camera. The patient is given an intravenous injection of radioactive tracer. Multiple images of the lungs are obtained. This will take approximately 15 minutes.
For some patients, a ventilation study will be done. The patient is positioned under the gamma camera, a mask will be placed over the patient’s nose and mouth. The patient will be given instructions on when to hold a breath and when to breath normally. This part takes 15 minutes.
The physician who interprets the scan will send a report to your physician, who will then share the results with you.
What is a quantitative lung scan?
A quantitative lung scan is done to evaluate lung function before surgery.
What should I do to prepare for my scan?
There is no special preparation for this study.
What will happen during a quantitative lung scan and how will I get my results?
The patient will be lying on a table positioned under the gamma camera. A mask will be placed over the patient’s mouth and nose. The patient will be given instructions on when to hold a breath and when to breath normally. This part takes 15 minutes. The patient is then given an intravenous injection of radioactive tracer and images of the lungs are obtained. This will take 15 minutes.
The physician who interprets the scan will send a report to your physician, who will then share the results with you.
Radiologyinfo.org for Patients
The radiology information resource for patients. RadiologyInfo.org tells you how various X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiation therapy and other procedures are performed. It also addresses what you may experience and how to prepare for the exams. The website contains over 200 procedure, exam and disease descriptions covering diagnostic and interventional radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy and radiation safety and is updated frequently with new information. All material on the RadiologyInfo.org website is reviewed and approved by experts in the field of radiology from the ACR and RSNA, as well as other professional radiology organizations.