Nuclear Medicine Scan of Gastric - Scan Gastric Emptying Scan Item 3

What Is a Gastric Emptying Scan (Item 3)?

This is the third scheduled imaging time point of a standard gastric emptying nuclear medicine study, a test designed to measure the rate at which food and liquid move from your stomach into your small intestine. The test uses a very small, safe amount of radioactive tracer that is mixed into a small, plain meal (such as scrambled eggs and toast) you eat at the start of the full study; the tracer emits a low level of radiation that a special gamma camera can detect to create real-time images of your stomach’s emptying activity. No contrast dye is used for this scan, no special preparation is required for this specific time point, and the 10-minute imaging session carries no risk of claustrophobia.

Clinical Applications for Gastrointestinal Symptoms

This test is ordered to evaluate gastrointestinal conditions that affect normal stomach motility, most commonly to diagnose gastroparesis, a condition where the stomach empties too slowly. Gastroparesis is often linked to long-term diabetes, damage to the vagus nerve from surgery, neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease, or unknown causes, and it leads to symptoms including chronic nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating, early fullness after eating small amounts of food, and unpredictable blood sugar changes in people with diabetes. It may also be used to monitor how well pro-motility medications or dietary changes are working to improve stomach emptying, or to assess stomach function before or after bariatric surgery, gastrectomy, or other gastrointestinal procedures.

What to Expect During Your Scan

There are no special preparation steps required for this specific 10-minute imaging time point. When you arrive for your appointment, you will lie flat on a comfortable, padded scanning table, and a large, open gamma camera will be positioned above your abdomen to capture images of your stomach. The camera does not enclose your body, so there is no risk of claustrophobia, and the scan is completely painless with no side effects from the small amount of radioactive tracer used; you will only need to lie still for the full 10 minutes to ensure clear, accurate images are collected.