To help provide your physician with quantitative information on how your lungs will perform after a  lobectomy.

A technologist will explain the entire process to you prior to starting the exam.  He/she will also ask you some health history questions, which will help our radiologist interpret your exam.

We prefer to perform this exam with you sitting upright on a backless stool.  If you are unable to sit upright unsupported, the exam will be perform with you lying flat on our imaging bed. 

For the ventilation portion (air supply) of the exam you will be asked to breathe into a closed breathing device for about 5 minutes.  You will be breathing in and out a colorless and odorless radioactive gas.

For the perfusion portion you will be asked to lie flat on our scanning bed.  A technologist will be giving you an intravenous (IV) injection of a radiopharmaceutical reagent that shows us how the blood supply to your lungs is functioning.  We will acquire 6 more images after the injection.

Regional lung ratios will be provided to your physician.

If you have any technical questions, specific to this procedure, please don’t hesitate to ask the technologist at scan time.  All clinical questions should be directed to your physician.

A report will be sent to your ordering physician.

The exam takes about 45 minutes.

No complications are expected from this procedure.

Studies of the health effects of radiation have shown that high doses of radiation can cause cancer.  However, this hospital procedure requires that we inject you with a very low level of radioactive material. 

The risk from lower doses of radiation, such as you will receive during this exam, is uncertain.  Most scientists believe that the risk is very small.  Certainly, the benefits received from the exam far outweigh the small risk associated with this procedure