What Happens at a CT Scan?

Your CT will take place in a mobile unit or in a community or hospital venue.

The mobile units move regularly, so you will be told where the unit will be at for your appointment when you book your CT scan.

The scan only takes a few minutes, but your appointment will take around 10-20 minutes in total. When you arrive at your appointment, we will take your height and weight and run back through your risk assessment answers with you to make sure we have this information correct in your record.

During the scan, you will be asked to lie flat on your back on a bed that moves slowly into the CT scanner. You don’t need to take any of your clothes off, although if you are wearing any jewellery or metal, you will be asked to remove these. The scan is completely painless. You’ll need to lie still and follow a few simple breathing instructions for 10 seconds to make sure we can get a clear picture of your lungs.

There will be a specially trained member of staff available throughout your scan. This member of staff will operate the scanner from behind a screen.

The scanner uses radiation to take an image of your lungs. You will be exposed to a small amount of radiation as a result; this is about the same as a year’s worth of radiation from the natural environment.

After the scan, you will be able to continue your day as normal. You will receive your results around 4 weeks after your scan.