Journal of Tumor Research
Open Access

Techniques Involved in Bone Scanning

Xuelan Zheng^{* *}Correspondence: Xuelan Zheng, Department of Oncology, Zhengzhou University, Henan, China, Email:

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Description

Bone scan is also known as Bone Scintigraphy. It is a form of imaging used to diagnose bone problems. It has also been observed as a "dye" but does not stain tissue. Specifically, a bone scan is done to reveal problems with bone metabolism. Bone metabolism refers to the method by which bones break down and degradation of bone tissue. New bone formation is an element of the healing process when bones are slashed or broken. A bone scan can be a good way to observe and document abnormal metabolic activity in the bones. A bone scan can be used to confirm whether the cancer has spread to the bones from another part of the body, such as the prostate or breast.

Techniques

During a bone scan, a heated substance is injected into a vein surrounded by bone. Then the patient will be monitored for many hours. A very small amount of radiation is used within the substance, and most of the radiation is removed from the body within 2 to 3 days. A bone scan carries no more risk than standard X-rays. The risk of getting hypersensitivity to the tracers is rare. However, this scan is also not safe for pregnant or breastfeeding women. There is a risk of harming the foetus and contaminating breast milk. Be sure to inform the doctor if the person is pregnant or breastfeeding. There is no special preparation for the bone scan. The actual screening process takes about an hour. Before the procedure the doctor may offer a mild sedative to get relax. The procedure begins with an injection of a heated substance into the vein. The substance is then allowed to work its way throughout the body for the next 2 to 4 hours. As the substance spreads over your body, the bone’s cells naturally settle to areas that need to heal. The hot tracer substance’s track these cells and collect in spots where bone is broken. The substance has settled in the broken areas and seems as dark spots on the image. This test was repeated once again if the report was not conclusive. There is a test known as Single-Photon Emission X- Radiation. It creates 3-D pictures of the bones. This test may be critical for deep examination of the bones. It is used to evaluate metabolic disorders, such as hyperparathyroidism, osteomalacia, Paget disease and osteoporosis.

Conclusion

Results are thought-about abnormal, once the scan displays darker “hot spots” or lighter “cold spots” within the bones. Hot spots define places wherever associate mark far more than hot substance has collected. Cold spots, on the opposite hand, are areas wherever it didn’t collect in any order. Abnormal results will indicate that the person have a bone disorder, like cancer or inflammatory disease or infection within the bone. Sometimes, people have an allergic reaction after the test due to the iodine. In rare cases it leads to the hyper sensitive reactions. There is a small risk that the gamma rays may affect an unborn child in pregnant ladies, Hence bone scan is used primarily to detect the spread of metastatic cancer.