Diagnosis Through Bone Scan

Bone scanning tests are used to measure the density and strength of the bones. Bone tumors or compression fractures caused by osteoporosis can also be located with the help of bone scanning process. This procedure involves injection of small amount of radioactive substance in to one of your veins. The substance gets collected in the bones emitting gamma waves which detects the bone problems by using a special camera. In some cases the bones can be visualized using X-rays or special nuclear scanning techniques like Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT).

Bone scanning process is useful in determining early bone abnormalities which are otherwise suspected of leading to conditions like spinal fracture, cancer and osteoarthritis. Bone scan procedure is usually performed to obtain the picture of bone metabolism. A bone scan may be ordered by your doctor to diagnose hidden or subtle bone fractures which are not detected by a routine X-ray like stress fracture. Bone scan is also useful in detecting:

1) Bone cancer
2) Arthritis
3) Infection in bones
4) Causes of unexplained bone pain

In one way bone scan is opposite to X-rays. An X-ray passes radiation in to or through your body in order to create an image on film kept on the other side of your body whereas, in bone scan, the source of radiation is inside your body traveling to the surface where the camera detects it.

Bone scan is generally recommended to identify the following disorders:
1) Arthritis
2) Fractures
3) Bone tumors
4) Bone infections
5) Fibrous dysplasia
6) Unexplained pain

This procedure's sensitivity to variation in bone metabolism and the ability to scan the entire skeleton helps in diagnosing a variety of bone disorders. This test is safe to perform as the radiation emitted in the process is very little thus posing no greater risks. This bone scan process involves two basic stages, the injection stage and the scanning stage. This test should be strictly performed under the supervision of your doctor following all the essential instructions related to the test to ensure the accuracy of the test.