Assessment of gastric emptying using gamma scintigraphy

Gamma scintigraphy was used to measure the gastric emptying rates of three test meals in human volunteers. Emptying rates were determined for solid and liquid materials alone, and for liquid in the presence of solid material. It was shown that the emptying of solids from the stomach was significantly slower than that of liquid, whether liquid alone or liquid in the presence of solid material. It was concluded from these results that, in the case of a solid test meal from which radio-label could be eluted, the free label would empty considerably faster than the remaining solid material. The emptying rate observed scintigraphically would not, therefore, be a true estimate of the solid emptying rate.