Nuclear Medicine with Sanitas
The name alarms people far more than the scan warrants. What actually happens is an injection, a wait, and lying still under a camera.
What it actually is
The name puts people off, so here is what happens. You are given a small amount of a radioactive tracer, usually by injection. It travels to the part of the body being studied. A camera detects where it has gone.
The difference from an X-ray or a CT scan is what it shows. Those show structure – what things look like. Nuclear medicine shows function – how something is working. A bone scan finds activity in bone before any change is visible on an X-ray.
Is it safe
The radiation dose is comparable to a CT scan, and the tracer clears from your body within hours to a couple of days. You are not a hazard to anyone, though staff will sometimes suggest keeping a little distance from small children or a pregnant woman for the rest of the day.
The relevant question is not whether there is radiation but whether the scan will change your treatment. If it will, the benefit outweighs the dose comfortably. Ask the doctor requesting it what they expect to learn.
The common scans
Bone scan, looking for hidden fractures, infection or spread of disease. Thyroid scan, assessing an overactive thyroid or a nodule. Cardiac perfusion, showing blood supply to the heart muscle. Kidney and lung function scans.
PET scans also belong to this specialty and are the ones most people have heard of, usually in connection with cancer. They have a guide of their own: PET scans with Sanitas covers preparation, what happens on the day and how cover works.
The waiting period
These count as complex diagnostic tests, so they carry a 6-month waiting period. Urgent cases override it.
What to expect on the day
Longer than an X-ray. You are usually injected, then wait – sometimes a couple of hours – while the tracer distributes, then scanned. Bring something to read. Some scans need you to avoid caffeine or food beforehand, so follow the instructions exactly or the scan may have to be repeated.
Where the nuclear medicine centres are
46 clinics across 25 provinces, with 61 named specialists between them – and a specialist requests these, so you will not be booking one yourself.
- Barcelona – 7 centres, 14 specialists
- Madrid – 4 centres, 5 specialists
- Balearics – 3 centres, 5 specialists
- Seville – 3 centres, 5 specialists
- Malaga – 3 centres, 4 specialists
Twenty-five provinces have one or more, most with a single centre. Expect to travel, and book early because capacity is limited.
Language
Less critical than for a consultation, since most of the appointment is lying still. The preparation instructions matter though – if you are unsure what you have been told to do beforehand, ring and check rather than guess.
What you pay
Nothing at the centre on a no-co-payment plan once the waiting period has passed. A fixed amount per test on a co-payment plan.
See every Sanitas waiting period in one place, including how switching from another insurer waives nearly all of them.
Find a nuclear medicine centre near you
Browse nuclear medicine in the Sanitas directory – by province, with addresses, phone numbers and a map.
