Activity is the rate of radioactive decay or the emission rate of a radiation from radioactive material. The cumulated activity is useful for nuclides that emit multiple radiations per disintegration.
The units for activity are the curie (Ci) and the becquerel (Bq).

The administered activity is the amount of radioactive material (dose) given in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.

A bone scan or bone scintigraphy is used to in evaluate diseases of the skeletal system. Scintigraphic whole body bone imaging is a highly sensitive method to show changes in bone metabolism. Increased metabolic activity is seen as a hot spot.
The study requires the injection of a 99mTc-labeled radiopharmaceutical (most commonly methylene diphosphonate (MDP), hydroxymethylene diphosphonate (HMDP) or hydroxyethylene diphosphonate (HDP)). The activity administered for bone scanning is around 500 MBq (300-1100 MBq, 8-30 mCi), depending on age and weight of the patient. After 2-5 hours, the emitted gamma rays are detected by gamma cameras. The produced planar images include anterior and posterior views of the skeleton.
Multiphase bone scintigraphy is used to differentiate a bone process from tissue pathology. In some cases additional SPECT imaging is helpful to better characterize the presence, location and extent of disease.

Whole body scintigraphy is the measurement of radioactivity in the entire body.
Whole body scintigraphy is useful for example in detection of tumors, infections, evaluation of metastases, and diseases with multiple organ involvement.
Different whole body scan techniques include:

The accumulation of radioactive substances in organs or tissues is used for diagnosis and therapy.

See also Bioaccumulation Factor and Administered Activity.