Nuclear medicine
Nuclear medicine uses small amounts of radioactive substances that are attracted to specific organs, bones, or tissues. These substances emit gamma rays that can be detected by a gamma camera. The cameras work in conjunction with computers to form images that provide information about the area of body being imaged.
The amount of radiation from a nuclear medicine procedure is comparable to that received during a diagnostic x-ray.
Show up 30 minutes before your exam to register. If you arrive late, your appointment may be rescheduled.
Please have your Health card ready for the registration.
Bone scan
Instructions: The exam will take place in 2 parts and will take approximately 4 hours. The technologist will inject you with a safe, radioactive material to perform the exam. You will then be told what time to return for the second part of the exam. You will need to drink a few glasses of water throughout the day.
Duration: 30 to 60 minutes
Myocardial perfusion
Instructions: Do not drink any coffee, tea or take any medication with caffeine 12 hours before the exam. Do not eat or drink anything 4 hours before the exam. Do not smoke, take any Nicorette® gum or transdermal nicotine patch 2 hours before the exam. The clerk will have confirmed if you need to stop any of your medications before the exam. Bring comfortable clothing for exercise, a snack and your medication list.
Duration: 3 to 4 hours
Captopril renal scan
Instructions: Do not eat after midnight. You must drink a few glasses of water 1 hour before the exam to keep yourself well hydrated (you can empty your bladder). The clerk will have confirmed if you have to stop certain medications before the exam.
Duration: 90 minutes
Renal or Lasix scan
Instructions: You should drink a few glasses of water 1 hour before the exam to keep yourself well hydrated (you can empty your bladder).
Duration: 1 hour
Renal scan with DMSA (dimercaptosuccinic acid)
Instructions: No preparation necessary.
Duration: The duration of this first part is 45 minutes. You will have to come back 3 hours later for more images to be taken. The second part lasts 30 minutes.
Pulmonary scan
Instructions: No preparation necessary.
Duration: 1 hour
Follow-up: If you did not have a chest x-ray before the exam, you will have one after the exam, before you leave.
Thyroid scan
Instructions: No preparation necessary. The clerk will have told you if you need to stop certain medications.
Duration: 1 hour
Gallium scan
Instructions: No preparation necessary. You will need to return 48 hours, and possibly 72 hours, after your appointment to have more images taken. The technologist will notify you of the date and time you will need to return.
Duration: 30 minutes.
Liver-spleen scan
Instructions: No preparation necessary.
Duration: 1 hour
Red blood cell liver scan
Instructions: No preparation necessary, but you must come back 3 hours after the injection for more images to be taken.
Duration: 1 hour
Hepatobiliary scan
Instructions: You must eat 4 hours before the exam to avoid a false study. Afterwards, you must fast (no eating nor drinking) until the exam.
It is recommended that you make arrangements for your return home, as you may not be able to drive for 8 hours following the exam (if you received morphine).
Duration: between 90 minutes and 4 hours.
Meckel’s diverticulum study
Instructions: You must fast (no eating nor drinking) six hours before the exam.
Duration: 1 hour
Multigated acquisition (MUGA) scan
Instructions: No preparation necessary.
Duration: 1 hour and a half
Parathyroid scan
Instructions: No preparation necessary.
Duration of the exam: The exam is done in 2 parts. After the first part, you will be instructed to return in 2-3 hours. The total duration of the examination is 4 hours.
Gastric emptying study
Instructions: You must fast (not eat or drink) for six hours before the exam and bring a list of your medications. The clerk will have confirmed if you need to stop certain medications. If you are diabetic, please bring your insulin and glucose meter. You must notify the technician if you are allergic to eggs or gluten.
Duration: 4 hours
GI Bleed
Instructions: You must fast (not eat or drink) for four hours before the exam.
Once the examination is completed, no further action is required. The radiologist will interpret the results, which will be sent to the referring physician and your family doctor. Unless otherwise specified, the radiologist's report will be available via the Connected Care Patient Portal, and the images of your exam will be available via PocketHealth (see details below).
Patients at Montfort can now easily access their medical imaging with PocketHealth. With just a few clicks, you can use this secure online platform to view, store and seamlessly share your images anytime, on any device.
How to access your records
- Go to pockethealth.com/montfort to request your images.
- Once your images are ready to view, you’ll receive an email from PocketHealth with a secure link.
- Click on the link received by email to download and share your images.
- Physicians receiving shared images can view or import these images, with no software or account set up needed.
Should you have questions, or need help with PocketHealth, call 1-855-381-8522 or email help@pocket.health.
Hôpital Montfort is integrated with the Ocean eReferral Network portal. Click the link to access the request.
The Ocean eReferral platform allows you to create and submit requests directly from most electronic medical record systems for physicians in the community.
Therefore, Montfort encourages you to take advantage of this free platform that greatly simplifies and streamlines the process of managing test requests.
Requests received via Ocean will always be clearer and more complete, and allow for more effective and efficient communication with providers and patients.
For more information or assistance with the Ocean integration process, email contact@ereferralontarioeast.ca or visit their website by clicking here.
Additional Notes
Patients with an appointment will receive
an automated reminder by phone, up to
5 days prior to their appointment.
This service requires a medical referral from your physician.
Coordinates
Registration: room 1B164
Please have your Health card ready for the registration.
Phone : 613-748-4907
Fax: 613-748-4951
Additional fax: 1-855-245-7379