They then will be asked to change into a hospital gown to optimize performance of the highly sensitive detectors. Once inside the steel room, patients will be helped onto the counting table where they will lay comfortably for 15 minutes. The counting process takes place quietly, with music in the background, and patients are monitored continuously by means of a video camera and intercom system. Counting can be interrupted immediately upon request of the patient. The counting process is completely passive.
Nothing is required of the patient, and nothing is administered to the patient.
There is no risk involved in addition to any preexisting health conditions or diseases that patients might have. Measurement of natural K-40 in the tissues of the human body can be used to determine the total amount of potassium in the body. The method for determining the amount of potassium in a human subject is to compare the number of gamma rays from a known amount of potassium placed in a phantom with the number counted from a human subject. However, the equipment does successfully monitor changes over a period of time for any size individual. Fatty tissues are known to have a low potassium concentration and muscle tissue a higher level.