F-18 Sodium Fluoride PET Bone Scan in Fountain Valley
F-18 Sodium Fluoride (NaF) PET bone scans for fractures, infection, arthritis, and metastatic bone disease — high resolution, shorter visit, and the same clear results your physician needs.
At Orange County MRI we use F-18 Sodium Fluoride (NaF) PET for bone imaging. NaF is a radiotracer that highlights areas of bone activity with much higher resolution than the older technetium-based bone scan, and the entire visit is significantly faster.
Because the study is performed on a PET scanner, your physician gets sharper, more detailed images of the whole skeleton — useful for evaluating fractures, infection, arthritis, and metastatic disease.
You'll receive a small injection of F-18 Sodium Fluoride. After a short uptake period (the tracer needs time to localize in bone), you'll be imaged on our PET scanner — typically a 20-30 minute scan. Total visit time is usually about 60-90 minutes, much shorter than a traditional bone scan.
You'll be encouraged to drink water before and after the scan to help your body clear the tracer. Tell staff if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, have recently had another nuclear medicine or PET exam, or need help with mobility.
F-18 Sodium Fluoride PET produces sharper, higher-resolution images and the visit is much faster — typically about 60-90 minutes total versus 3-4 hours for a traditional Tc-99m scan. The clinical use cases (fractures, mets, infection, arthritis) are the same.
The tracer is given by injection. Imaging itself is not painful, but you'll need to lie still during the PET scan.
Many patients can eat normally — F-18 NaF PET typically does not require fasting. Follow the specific instructions given when you scheduled.
Plan for about 60-90 minutes including injection, uptake time, and the scan itself.
Bring ID, insurance, physician order, completed Bone Scan questionnaire, and any prior imaging records.
We're at 17150 Euclid Street, Suite 101, Fountain Valley, CA 92708.
