Nuclear Medicine Artifacts

Excerpt

Artifacts in nuclear medicine are abnormalities observed that misrepresent a physiologic process or anatomical structure as pathological, and this does not include variants (either abnormal or normal). The reporting physician must know of and recognize an artifact to differentiate it from a true representation or variant. Artifacts may represent false positives, false negatives, or obscure results. The imaging interpreter must verify the nature of the artifacts and may require further clinical information or examination to determine the cause and correct it if needed.