5 Common Nuclear Medicine exams:
Thyroid uptake and scan
The thyroid scan and a radioactive iodine uptake test (RAIU), also known as a thyroid uptake, are nuclear medicine examinations that help evaluate the structure and function of the thyroid. The thyroid is a gland in the neck that controls metabolism, a chemical process that regulates the rate at which the body functions.
For both tests, a small amount of a radioactive material called a radiopharmaceutical or radiotracer is injected into a vein or swallowed by mouth. This material eventually collects in the thyroid. This test usually takes two consecutive days, the tracer is given on day one, on day two a probe that detects the tracer will help determine how much has been absorbed by the thyroid glan as well as a gamma camera will be used to take images of the gland.
Common reasons for this test are to help determine thyroid function as well as thyroid nodules (lumps) and to also determine if thyroid cancer has spread beyond the gland itself.
