Medical Informations

Medical Informative Booklets

Nuclear Medicine

Pet Scan

in English : PET SCAN (Positron Emission Tomography Scanner)

in French  : TEP SCAN (Tomographie par Emission de Positrons)

 

Where do you have to go ?

The PET SCAN department is located at the -1 level of the Institut Jules Bordet
-Phone number : 02/541.30.93
-Fax : 02/541.30.94
-E-mail : pet@bordet.be

 
What is a PET SCAN ?

The PET SCAN is an imaging technique studying the metabolic activity of tissues. It is additional to radiography, ultrasound scan, NMR and scan, that are morphologic imaging techniques.

 

Preparation to the examination

You have to be fasting from 6 hours before the exam:
-If your appointment is in the morning: do not eat or drink anything after midnight, except water;
-If your appointment is in the afternoon: you are allowed to have a light unsweetened breakfast early in the morning (before 7 a.m.).

 

You can go on following your usual treatment except if we give you other instructions (contact us in case of doubt).
Don’t forget to bring your SIS card (Belgian social security card) and all your previous radiographies, scintigraphies, NMRs, Ctscan and Pet SCAN.

 
-If you are diabetic: please contact us first because a more specific preparation is needed.
-If you are wearing a Port-A-Cath® (totally implantable venous access system): please make sure it is open.

 

Please also inform us of pregnancy, period lateness or breast-feeding.

 

Duration

You have to stay for 2 hours in the unit once the tracer has been injected.

Since we depend on technical and human factors, our schedules may change for reasons beyond our control. Should this happen, you will be informed.

 

The examination

Go to the reception of the Jules Bordet Institute. You will be attended by a physician from the department that will make your anamnesis and complete your medical file.
 

Then, you will be placed in the ‘rest’ room where the nurse will put you on a intravenous drip and measure your glycaemia. The radiotracer is injected through the drip line. This is a painless product and it won’t cause any secondary reaction. It will take 60 minutes to the tracer to be fixed in all your body. During this time, you have to be relaxed.
 

Once you have passed water, you will be comfortably put on the couch. Once the spotting have been made, the image capture will begin and last for 45 minutes. You have to stay perfectly still during the examination.

 

Precautions to take after the examination

After the examination, you will still be a bit radioactive. Being well hydrated will help to eliminate the material.
Although there are few risks associated with radioactivity, it is better to avoid contact with very young children and pregnant women until the evening of the examination.

 

Results

The department’s physician will only be able to communicate the results once the recorded images have been reconstructed. The definitive results will be sent to the prescribing doctor within 8 days.

 

If you cannot attend your appointment, please contact us as soon as possible.

 

We will be pleased to answer any other questions about the examination and hope we succeeded in giving you some useful information.

 

The PET Scan team.

 

Back to : Choice of "Medical Informative Booklets"