Increased uptake: Meaning in a Radiology Report

Also written as: hot spot, focal uptake, increased tracer uptake, increased activity

Increased uptake means an area takes up more tracer than the tissue around it on a nuclear medicine or PET scan. It is often called a hot spot.

What it means

Each tracer is drawn to a certain kind of activity in the body. Increased uptake means a spot holds more tracer than its surroundings, so it stands out on the images. On a bone scan, the tracer collects where bone is actively rebuilding itself. On an FDG PET scan, it collects where cells are using a lot of sugar. Reports often add mild, moderate or intense.

When it matters

On a bone scan, the most common causes are wear-and-tear arthritis, healing fractures and recent surgery. Infection and tumors are less common causes. The pattern helps: matching spots in both knees suggest arthritis, while scattered spots in the spine or ribs get a closer look. Doctors often compare with X-rays, CT or MRI of the same area, or with older scans.

Questions to ask your doctor

Does the pattern of uptake fit arthritis or an old injury?
Do I need an X-ray, CT or MRI of that area?
Can it be compared with an older bone or PET scan?

General information, not medical advice. What a finding means for you depends on your symptoms, your history and the images themselves, so talk your results through with a doctor.