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Nuclear scans and tests

Our nuclear medicine departments have a range of equipment which help us to diagnose heart and lung conditions more quickly. As well as high-techNuclear medicine image machines, we spread our expertise, care and attention across two sites - Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals.

The nuclear scan

A nuclear scan is a way of taking images of your body. Before we can take these images, we need to give you an injection, called a tracer. Tracers contain a small amount of radioactivity in them which allows us to highlight the parts of the body we need to see in more detail. 

Risks

Most medical procedures and tests have some level of risk, but it's important to know that we wouldn't recommend a procedure/test if we the benefits didn't outweigh any potential risks to your health. 

Particular risk

Female patients

If you are pregnant, or think you might be, please tell us before your scan. Even small amounts of radiation can harm unborn babies. 

If you are breastfeeding, you can still have the scan but please contact us for advice before you come in. 

Find out more about our other heart and lung assessments.

Where to go for your scan

Harefield Hospital

Types of scans and tests

At Harefield Hospital, we use state-of-the-art equipment to carry out a number of tests and scans which look at the lungs, heart and other parts of the body to see if they are functioning properly. These include: 

Heart scans and tests

Lung scans and tests

Other scans and tests

The results

Your scan results will be interpreted by an experienced nuclear medicine physician and will be sent to your referring specialist. You can consult your specialist doctor to plan further treatment. 

Nuclear medicine department

A range of healthcare professionals look after you when you come to Harefield Hospital for a scan or test. These include:

  • Dr Kshama Wechalekar, consultant nuclear physician, head of department
  • Rommel Manlapig, superintendent radiographer
  • Naeema Ifthikar, department office manager

Getting to Harefield

Find out how to get to us at Harefield. Once there, you'll find the nuclear medicine department in the ANZAC Centre. When you arrive, it is 30 metres straight ahead of you. Here, you can report to a reception window in the nuclear medicine waiting area, but if you do need any help, just ask at main reception. 

Royal Brompton Hospital

Our scanning equipment

At Royal Brompton, we use state-of-the-art advanced imaging equipment to carry out tests and scans which look at the lungs, heart and other parts of the body to see if they are functioning properly. This advanced equipment includes VERITON-CT and DSPECT scanners:

VERITON-CT scanner

  • The VERITON-CT scanner uses 12 detectors to create detailed 3D images of the body.
  • The 360-degree design allows for fast scans and helps reduce the amount of radiation patients receive.
  • The scanner is used to help doctors assess how well organs such as the lungs and heart are working.
  • Royal Brompton is the only hospital in London with a VERITON-CT scanner. 

DSPECT scanner

  • The DSPECT scanner provides high-quality 3D images of the heart.
  • Patients are scanned while seated, which can help those who feel uncomfortable or claustrophobic in traditional scanners.
  • The scanner supports accurate diagnosis and monitoring of heart conditions.

Types of scans and tests

Heart scans and tests

Lung scans and tests

Other scans and tests

You may be invited for any type of test but they can all be done on an outpatient basis, so you don't need to stay overnight. The length of the test can vary between 1-4 hours, depending on the test. 

The results

Your scan results will be interpreted by an experienced nuclear medicine physician and will be sent to your referring specialist. You can consult your specialist doctor to plan further treatment. 

Nuclear medicine department

A range of healthcare professionals look after you when you come to Royal Brompton Hospital for a scan or test. These include:

  • Dr Kshama Wechalekar, consultant nuclear physician, head of department
  • Nuno Martins, superintendent technologist
  • Simon Walker, clinical nurse specialist
  • Anita Grigarova, clinical nurse specialist
  • Lucy Hossen, lead physicist
  • Petra Mahutova, office manager 

Getting to Royal Brompton

Find out how to get to us at Royal Brompton. 

When you reach the main hospital reception in the Sydney Street building, follow the signs to the lifts. Go up to Level 3 in the lift or stairs and then follow the signs to the nuclear medicine department.

If you need help, ask at the hospital reception desk. The receptionist can arrange for a porter to help you get to the department.

Patient transport

If for medical reasons you need to arrange transport to come to the hospital, please contact your GP. They can arrange this by referring you to our hospital transport department on 020 7351 8012.

Nuclear medicine research

We perform more than 5,000 studies in the fields of nuclear cardiology and myocardial perfusion imaging, and more. Find out more about our research. 

Information for referrers

How to refer patients

You can refer patients to Royal Brompton Hospital or Harefield Hospital by following the process below. We offer appointments with a medical referral for a wide range of tests and scans at both of our sites.

Internal referrers

All nuclear medicine investigations must be requested on EPIC. Please give us as much relevant information as you can on the request form, this will help us to give you more useful reports. Please do not forget to tell us how urgent the test is by ticking the relevant priority box.

If you have any questions about submitting a request, please contact us on one of the numbers below:

  • Royal Brompton Hospital (ext. 88666)
  • Harefield Hospital (ext. 85880)

External referrers

Doctors can submit a patient referral directly to the nuclear medicine department by email (contact details below). On receipt of the referral we will contact the patient to arrange an appointment. Please note, we require a medical doctor to sign the letter for all diagnostic tests, as per IR(MER) regulations for all tests that involve radiation. 

Download the referral criteria for the department of nuclear medicine at Royal Brompton Hospital.

Once the patient has accepted their appointment, a letter or an email with details of the appointment is sent to them. This will include a patient information leaflet which will explain the procedure and what they may need to do to prepare for a test or scan.

Emailing your referral

Doctors can submit a patient referral via e-mail. E-mail referrals will only be accepted if they are sent from the referring doctor’s nhs.net account to our nhs.net account shown below. We recommend referrers to use our request form, to which they can attach a signed clinic letter, should they choose to. 

If providing a typed letter of referral, referrers must provide the following details of the referred patient:

  1. Name, date of birth, address and NHS number
  2. Telephone number and email
  3. Relevant clinical details, medication etc.
  4. Type of test needed
  5. Signature of the doctor (scanned and emailed)

Referral letters must also state the urgency of the investigation e.g. urgent, within six months etc. and include any clinic letters that may be relevant.

Patient referrals for Royal Brompton Hospital should be emailed to rbh-tr.rbhnmreferrals@nhs.net

Patient referrals for Harefield Hospital should be emailed to rbh-tr.nuclearmedicinereferrals@nhs.net

Contact us

Royal Brompton Hospital

Department of Nuclear Medicine
Royal Brompton Hospital
Sydney Street
London
SW3 6NP

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7351 8666/9

Email: rbh-tr.rbhnmreferrals@nhs.net 

Harefield Hospital

Department of Nuclear Medicine
Harefield Hospital
Ground Floor Anzac Centre Building
Hill End Road
Harefield
UB9 6JH

Telephone: +44 (0)1895 828 880

Email: rbh-tr.nuclearmedicinereferrals@nhs.net 

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