Other Scans

Other scans performed at Nuclear Medicine Barbados include; Parathyroid, liver and gallbladder, gastric emptying, gastric bleed and Meckel's diverticulum. These scans are not requested as often as the others listed and in some cases the pharmaceuticals needed have to be ordered first.

Parathyroid: This scan is usually scheduled on the same day as cardiac scans because it uses the same kit. The patient is injected with the tracer, waits about five (5) mintues, then scanned for ten (10) minutes. No preparation is required.

Liver and Gallbladder: This scan, called a HIDA scan, looks at the liver, gallbladder and the biliary tree to make sure each is functioning properly and to find out which one may be the source of a suspected problem. Scanning can be time consuming as pictures at regular intervals over and hour are taken as well as delayed three (3) and twenty-four (24) hour pictures in some cases. To prepare for a HIDA scan, the patient will be instructed to only drink liquids from the night before.

Gastric Emptying: Gastric emptying scans give an accurate value for the time taken for digested food the leave the stomach. The patient is given a meal tagged with a small amount of radiation and pictures are taken from the time it is swallowed until an hour or more after. Preparation for this scan requires liquids only from the night before.

Gastric Bleed and Meckel's: These scans look for internal bleeding in the intestines.