Patients & Advocates
Nuclear Imaging Safety Information
All molecular and nuclear imaging procedures are very safe. Unlike surgery, they are noninvasive, which eliminates an entire set of risks.
In nuclear imaging procedures, the amount of tracer (radioactive material) used is extremely small, so radiation exposure is minimal—the amount of radiation in most nuclear medicine procedures is comparable to that received during a CT scan.
Radiopharmaceuticals are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and prepared with great care. They are tested carefully prior to general use. Nuclear imaging has been used for more than five decades, and these procedures are free of known side effects. While exposure to radiation does involve risk, naturally occurring background radiation and modern activities such as watching TV and flying in an airplane all contribute to a lifetime exposure that is only slightly increased by medical imaging. The benefits of early and accurate diagnosis far outweigh any risk that exposure to this small quantity of radioactive material might entail.
