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What Happens If You Wear Metal During a Pet Scan?

In the medical world, there is a diagnostic test called a PET scan, short for positron emission tomography scan. Radiologists who perform this test provide patients with instructions on how to prepare for the scan. One of the instructions is to avoid wearing clothing or jewelry with metal parts.

  1. PET Scan

    • A PET scan, or positron emission tomography scan, is a medical diagnostic test used to determine internal organ function and activity. This test can be used to help diagnose and evaluate cancer, brain and heart disorders.

    How PET Scan Works

    • A PET scan begins with an injection of a special radioactive substance that will be absorbed by the organ or body area in question, according to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The chemical is given 45 to 60 minutes to spread within the body, and then a special scanner is used to determine where the chemical is most concentrated, or to track how it circulates through the body. The scan itself normally takes between 30 to 60 minutes.

    Wearing Metal

    • Preparation instructions advise patients not to wear any metal such as belt buckles, buttons or jewelry during the test. Metal present during a PET scan can affect the results of the scan, possibly causing distortions showing false images of lesions within the body, according to the American Society of Radiologic Technologists.

    Internal Fixed Metal Pieces

    • A patient should advise his doctor if he has any metal pieces inside his body, such as screws, pins or permanent dental work. Often these parts do not have much effect on the accuracy of the PET scan, but in some cases, an additional test known as a CT scan will be done at the same time to view the metal pieces. According to an article in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, the results of the CT scan can be compared to the PET scan results, giving radiologists a way to determine if any abnormalities on the PET scan results are due to metal inside the body.

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