PET CT

When making your booking at any of our branches, our friendly staff will inform you of what you need to do in order to prepare for your examination.

On the day of the exam, you will be asked to change into a gown prior to the examination.
We, therefore, encourage patients to wear comfortable clothes and to leave jewellery at home.

Except for intravenous injections, most PET CT procedures are painless and are rarely associated with significant discomfort or side effects.

On the day of your procedure, an injection of the radioactive sugar is administered and you will be asked to lie down on a bed or to sit in a chair for 60-90 minutes while the sugar travels through the body.
It is important to be as still as possible during this time.

You will then be taken to the scanner room where the radiographer will position you in the scanner where you will remain for the duration of the scan.

How long will the scan take:

It is very difficult to predict the exact time you will spend with us. Many factors need to be considered when calculating how long it takes, these include:

External factors: 
Amount of traffic during delivery of the radiopharmaceutical as fresh doses are manufactured elsewhere and delivered daily, technical or hardware difficulties that are beyond our control – we do have an excellent team on standby for assistance should this happen.

Patient factors: 
If we struggle to find a suitable vein for injection, a very sick patient, if a patient suffers from claustrophobia or anxiety.

It is advisable that you do not make any other appointments on the same day as the PET/CT scan.
Although we give you a time for arrival this is just an estimate, we do try to stick to this, but please be patient if we are unable to do so. It would be best if you are not in a hurry and bring along some entertainment.

The full procedure take around 2 – 2.5 hours from time of injection until you are dressed and ready to go home.