How Does Metal Affect the Results of a PET Scan?

Imaging tests allow doctors to see what is happening inside your body and helps them diagnose health problems. If you need a positron emission tomography scan, better known as a PET scan, you will be told to remove all metal jewelry and clothing before the scan is started.

PET Scan

• In a PET scan radioactive material is injected into your blood stream, where it travels to your organs. The PET scanner uses the energy given off by the radioactive material to create three-dimensional images of your organs and tissues, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Metal

• Metal objects, both internal and external, can affect PET scan results. Metal can give the false appearance of a lesion in healthy tissue, leading to false positive results, according to "Clinical PET and PET/CT."

Considerations

• For a person with a metal implant who needs a PET scan, performing a CT scan at the same time can help a doctor compensate for the presence of the metal and correct the PET scan results that are affected.