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The purpose of this study is to take pictures of the air and blood supply to your lungs. This is to help the doctor diagnose your condition, and give appropriate treatment as required.
The ventilation part of the study is carried out first. You will be seated with a gamma camera placed behind your back. You will then be asked to inhale radioactive gas from a 'Technegas generator' until your lungs have sufficient uptake of the gas. The gamma camera will take 6 pictures of your lungs, each of 3 minutes duration. The whole procedure takes about 45 minutes. The perfusion study is carried out next and for this you will be given an injection of a radioactive tracer into a vein in your arm. The injection will be carried out with you lying down on a couch. 6 pictures of your lungs will then be taken by the gamma camera, each of 60 second duration. This procedure takes about 20 minutes. All the pictures are taken with you sitting in a chair, however, should you prefer we are able to take pictures with you lying down on the couch for the entire study.
In order to get good pictures the gamma camera will be close and you will have to remain still. You do not normally need to take off clothing. Only removal of jewellery or metal objects is required. On occasions, it may be necessary for our doctor to request that you have a chest x-ray carried out as well.
If you are pregnant, or you think you might be pregnant, you need to inform your doctor or the Nuclear Medicine staff before attending your appointment. In general, exposure to radiation during pregnancy should be kept to a minimum and it may be necessary to postpone your scan. If you are breast-feeding, it is advisable to feed the baby before the injection and to substitute breast-feeding by formula feeding for the first 14 hours following the injection and to express and discard any milk secreted during this period.
We would prefer that you do not bring more than one person with you. It is advisable not to have a pregnant woman or a small child with you. This is to avoid exposing them to unnecessary radiation. It is also preferable to avoid prolonged close contact (hugging a child, sitting a child on your knee for more than half an hour) for the rest of the day.
You may eat, drink, and take your medication as normal.
The needle prick from the injection may hurt a little. Our doctors will be available during your stay in the department to answer any query and to provide medical cover in case of any rare side effect from the injection we give you.
The amount of radioactivity you receive in this study is strictly within the recommended national level. At this level, the benefit to you from a diagnosis of your condition outweighs the risk (negligible) of any harm associated with the radiation you will receive.
You may eat as normal. The more fluid you drink the better, as the radioactivity is passed out in the urine. No extra precautions need to be taken when passing urine.
The Nuclear Medicine doctor will report the study; the result will be sent to the doctor who requested the study.