Prepare For Your Scan

  • Please call our office before 10 a.m. the day before your appointment,
    at 215-935-0030.     This is required so that we can order your special medication for your scan.  If we do not speak with you we will not be able to perform your scan.  If your appointment is on a Monday please call us on the previous Friday.

  • Please arrive 15-30 minutes prior to your appointment time.

  • If you have any questions about these instructions, please call our office at the number above.

  • Click here to print the instructions on this page. [English]

  • Haga clic aquí para imprimir las instrucciones de esta página. [Español]

How to Prepare Before Your Appointment

  • No strenuous exercise for 24 hours before you arrive.

  • Dress warmly with clothes that preferably do not have any metal or zippers. Leave valuables and jewelry at home.

  • Please bring your Photo ID and all of your Insurance Cards with you.

Food and Drink

  • No food or drink except water for 6 hours before you arrive. This includes coffee, tea, soda, gum, hard candy and tobacco.

  • Drink 3 glasses of water at home before you arrive, unless this is against medical advice.

  • Eat a high protein/low carb diet the day before your scan.
    Foods to eat:

    • Main course: beef, chicken, eggs, bacon, fish, tuna

    • Vegetables: broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms

    • Dessert: peanut butter, cheese, cottage cheese

    • Drinks: black coffee, unsweetened tea, water

  • Avoid carbohydrates and sugars after 4PM the day before your scan.
    Foods to avoid:

    • Main course: potatoes, rice, breads, crackers, pasta

    • Vegetables: corn, carrots, beets

    • Dessert: candy, cakes

    • Drinks: soda, fruit juices, sugar in coffee and tea

    • Fruits: avoid all

Medications

  • Take all of your morning medications with plenty of water at home before you arrive.

  • If you have diabetes, please call the office at least 48 hours before your scan for specific instructions.

What to expect while you are here

  • You will have a small IV placed, and an extremely small amount of a special form of sugar will be given through your IV. You will not feel any different.

  • You will watch TV in a comfortable room for about 90 min followed by a 30 min scan on a machine that is similar to a CT scanner.

  • Plan to be here for about 3 hours total.

Visitors

  • You may bring one visitor with you into the private patient room.

  • Pregnant women are not allowed in the private patient room.

  • Children under the age of 18 must wait in the waiting room with a guardian.