PET/CT

Excel Diagnostics & Nuclear Oncology Center

Committed to Excellence in Diagnostics Imaging & Nuclear Oncology

At Excel DiagnosticS & Nuclear Oncology Center, we offer State of the art technology with the Siemens Biograph 16. The Siemens Proven Excellence Biogan provides imaging capability greater than ever thought possible, allowing your physician to quickly pinpoint the tiniest lesions in the greatest detail. For faster, more accurate diagnoses and care.

PET/CT Positron Emission Tomography and Computerized Tomography

Doctors, especially cancer surgeons, were often frustrated in trying to match PET images with CT images to determine the precise location of a tumor in relation to an organ or the spinal column. They had little choice other than to “eyeball” the two separate images and make an educated guess as to the tumor’s exact location – until 1992, when engineer Ron Nutt and physicist David Townsend came up with the idea of combining a PET and CT into one machine. After working on their combined PET and CT concept for three years, Nutt and Townsend received a grant from the National Cancer Institute. This enabled the completion of a prototype machine, which was installed at the University of Pittsburgh medical center in 1998. The pair designed the machine to be more patient-friendly by making the diameter of the PET/CT tunnel 28 inches, far more spacious than the typical MRI tunnels. Time Magazine honored PET/CT as the “Medical Science Invention of the Year” in 2000, noting that the PET/CT scanner has “provided medicine with a powerful new diagnostic tool.”1

The first PET/CT scanner was introduced in 2000. This hybrid marries two technologies, simultaneously showing both anatomical structure and cellular function, providing complete information on the location and metabolism of cancer. These combined PET/CT systems greatly facilitated interpretation of the digital images.

_{1 Jaroff, L. Time Magazine (2000, December 4).}

What is a PET/CT Scan?

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computerized Tomography (CT) are both standard imaging tools that allow physicians to pinpoint the location of cancer within the body before making treatment recommendations. The highly sensitive PET scan detects the metabolic signal of actively growing cancer cells in the body and the CT scan provides a detailed picture of the internal anatomy that reveals the location, size and shape of abnormal cancerous growths. In one continuous full-body scan (usually about 30 minutes), the PET captures images of miniscule changes in the body’s metabolism caused by the growth of abnormal cells, while CT images simultaneously allow physicians to pinpoint the exact location, size and shape of the diseased tissue or tumor. In practical terms small lesions or tumors are detected with the PET and then precisely located with the CT. Alone, each imaging test has particular benefits and limitations but when the results of PET and CT scans are “fused” together, the combined image provides complete information on cancer location and metabolism. The bottom line is that you can have both scans – PET and CT – done at the same time thereby maximizing your imaging results.

PET/CT Applications:

• Determines the Extent of the Disease
• Determines Location of the Disease for Biopsy, Surgery or Treatment Planning
• Assesses the Response to and Effectiveness of Treatments
• Detects Residual or Recurrent Disease
• May Assist in Avoiding Invasive Diagnostic Procedures