Criteria for a Triple Phase Bone Scan

A triple phase bone scan is a diagnostic tool used by doctors to determine the health of your bones. It can help identify bone diseases by imaging the metabolism of the bone.

Reasoning

• Doctors will recommend a triple phase bone scan when it is unclear if the patient is suffering from a soft tissue ailment or solely a bone issue. Also, triple phase bone scans detect abnormal conditions of the bone much earlier than traditional X-Rays.

Applications

• A triple phase bone scan is performed to determine if an existing cancer has spread to the bone, to determine the effects of chemotherapy or radiation therapy on the bone, to determine if a stress fracture is present and to determine if the bone is infected.

Significance

• A triple phase bone scan provides information about the blood flow and volume of a particular region of bone tissue and how it changes over time. This helps identify inflammatory, traumatic or vascular damage to the bone.

Features

• A triple phase bone scan consists of quick sequential imaging of vascular tissue, static images of blood flow and a bone scan.

Method

• A radioactive drug is injected into the bloodstream. The drug will bind to the bone and give off radiation, which is detected by the imaging system of the bone scan.

Procedure

• An initial scan is performed shortly after the radioactive injection. Two to four hours later, another scan is taken. The imaging takes an hour to complete.