What is PET/CT?
PET (Positron Emission Tomography) and CT (Computed Tomography) are joined together to allow physicians to more accurately diagnose and identify cancer, heart disease and brain disorders. PET scans demonstrate the biological function of the body before any anatomical change takes place. CT scans gives anatomical information such as shape, size and location. PET/CT allows us to gather all of this information in a single scan. Your physician is able to look at your entire body all at once and get a more complete picture making it easier to diagnose problems, determine the extent of the disease, develop a treatment plan, and track progress.
PET stands for Positron Emission Tomography. It detects changes in cellular function—how your cells are utilizing nutrients like sugar and oxygen. It’s a procedure that adds an important new dimension to a physicians’ ability to diagnose and manage disease. CT stands for Computed Tomography which allows physicians to see physical size and structure of internal organs. Fusing the two images together allows physicians to see both changes in physical size or structure of internal organs as well functional changes that may take place before a physical change occurs. This will enable earlier and more accurate diagnosis.
PET stands for Positron Emission Tomography. This scan will produce images of the human body’s biological functions. A CT is an x-ray that produces a detailed view of organs and tissues in the body. When the two scans are combined the result is powerful images that are merged together and will allow more accurate interpretation of the PET metabolic findings. This technology is the best scanning tool to aide in the diagnosis and treatment of most types of cancer.
By combining the imaging capabilities of PET (positron emission tomography) and CT (computed tomography), PET/CT fusion provides more definitive information about the human body than either method alone. The highly sensitive PET portion of the scan detects changes in cellular function—how your cells are utilizing nutrients such as sugar and oxygen. Since these functional changes typically take place before anatomical changes or medical symptoms occur, PET exam data enables your physician to diagnose disease at an earlier stage. The CT function acquires very detailed pictures of your body’s anatomical structures including bone and soft tissues. Using a computer, these 2-D images can be presented in 3-D for in-depth clinical evaluation. When these two scans are fused together, metabolic changes can be viewed in the proper anatomical context of your body. The findings a PET/CT offers allows your doctor to more accurately diagnose problems, determine the extent of disease, prescribe treatm
