Overview

A hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) scan is an imaging procedure used to diagnose problems of the liver, gallbladder and bile ducts.

For a HIDA scan, also known as cholescintigraphy or hepatobiliary scintigraphy, a radioactive tracer is injected into a vein in your arm. The tracer travels through your bloodstream to your liver, where the bile-producing cells take it up. The tracer then travels with the bile into your gallbladder and through your bile ducts to your small intestine.

A nuclear medicine scanner (gamma camera) tracks the flow of the tracer from your liver into your gallbladder and small intestine and creates computer images.