How to Read Bone Scans

A bone scan is a diagnostic procedure that detects abnormalities in the bones and joints. Bone scans are specific x-rays of your bones that show any abnormalities or irregularities in structure. The patient ingests radiation that shows up when they are x-rayed, helping to identify masses that could indicate certain types of cancers. Although nuclear medicine doctors should be relied on to read bone scans, all patients can understand the basics.

Things You'll Need

• bone scan

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Instructions

• 1

  Examine the bone scan picture for areas that are brighter because of increased concentration of the radioisotope.

• 2

  Identify these brighter areas as "hot spots" or areas of increased bone activity, which may indicate healing fractures, tumors, infections of other processes that trigger new bone formation.

• 3

  Notice that other areas of the scan have lower concentrations of the radioisotope and do not appear to be very bright.

• 4

  Identify these areas as "cold spots", which indicates poor blood flow to that area of bone or bone destruction due to a tumor.

• 5

  The previous steps identify abnormal reading of a bone scan. If the bone scan is normal, it should appear to have a fairly uniform distribution of radioisotope.