How do I prepare for the exam?

• A BayCare Imaging Professional will call you prior to your appointment to provide specific instructions. The representative will also verify your health and insurance information.
• Refrain from strenuous exercise 24 hours before your exam.
• Do not eat or drink anything except water for six hours before your exam. Also, please do not chew gum.
• If you are diabetic, please inform your physician, and contact your BayCare Imaging Center for special instructions.
• Continue to take your medications, with water, unless instructed not to do so by your physician.
• Please bring all of your previous films and/or radiology study results (e.g., CT scan, MRI, bone scan, ultrasound or PET) with you.
• We suggest wearing warm, comfortable clothing.
• Notify a BayCare Imaging Professional if you are nursing or if there is a chance you may be pregnant.
• Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment to verify your registration information.

What should I expect during the exam?

• A PET/CT scan is painless and has no side effects. 
• Typically, your appointment will last at least two hours. Your PET/CT scan itself will take approximately 20-45 minutes.
• Once you arrive, you will receive an IV in your arm or hand for an injection of a small amount of radioactive glucose, which is distributed throughout the body.
• About 30-70 minutes after the injection, you will empty your bladder, then lie down on a comfortable scanner bed.
• The table will move slowly through the dual donut-shaped PET/CT scanner as it acquires the information needed to generate diagnostic pictures.
• You will be asked to lie very still and breathe normally during the scan because movement can interfere with the results.
• A trained technologist will monitor you during the exam and answer your questions.

What happens after the exam?

• Unless you have received special instructions, you will be able to eat and drink immediately.
• Drinking a lot of fluid soon after the exam will help remove any of the radioactive sugar that may still be in your system. 
• A radiologist who specializes in the specific area of the body that was examined will review your images.
• The radiologist prepares a diagnostic report to share with your doctor.
• Your doctor will consider this information in context of your overall care and talk with you about the results

To make an appointment, please call:

Hillsborough County: (813) 635-3610
Pinellas/Pasco Counties: (727) 461-8555