PET Imaging
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear imaging technology (also referred to as molecular imaging) that enables visualization of metabolic processes in the body. The basics of PET imaging is that the technique detects pairs of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a positron-emitting radionuclide (also called radiopharmaceuticals, radionuclides or radiotracer). The tracer is injected into a vein on a biologically active molecule, usually a sugar that is used for cellular energy. PET systems have sensitive detector panels to capture gamma ray emissions from inside the body and use software to plot to triangulate the source of the emissions, creating 3-D computed tomography images of the tracer concentrations within the body.
News | PET Imaging | June 29, 2016
June 29, 2016 — Hodgkin lymphoma patients can be spared the serious side effects of chemotherapy thanks to high-tech...
News | Oncology Diagnostics | June 23, 2016
June 23, 2016 — Cancer patients often experience significant fluctuations in weight and lean body mass (LBM)....
A. Increased F-18 TZ3504 uptake was observed in the inflamed lumbar spinal cord of EAE-treated animals in the rat model of MS compared to sham control rats. Representative sagittal, coronal and transverse views of the thoracic and lumbar spine are shown. B. The time activity curve of F-18 TZ3504 uptake in the lumbar spinal cord was significantly higher for the first 30 minutes in EAE-treated rats. C. F-18 TZ3504 was able to cross the blood brain barrier and showed homogeneous distribution in the brain of a healthy nonhuman primate. Image Credit: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.
News | PET Imaging | June 23, 2016
June 23, 2016 — The triggers of autoimmune inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) have eluded scientists for many...
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A 90-second brain acquisition with FDG radiotracer — comparison of digital (Vereos, left, 1 mm) and conventional (Gemini TF, 4 mm) images.
Blog | PET Imaging | December 11, 2018
Digital technology is opening remarkable opportunities for clinical positron emission tomography (PET) about which...
Comparison of Ga-68-DOTATOC PET/CT with Y-90 DOTATOC PET/CT. Although the positron associated with Y-90 is rarely emitted, there is still sufficient signal to acquire a quantitative PET/CT image of Y-90 DOTATOC after a therapeutic administration. The white arrows indicate kidneys and the yellow arrows tumor. Credit: University of Iowa
News | Nuclear Imaging | June 23, 2016
June 23, 2016 — Aggressive neuroendocrine cancer is something of a dark horse — a rare, elusive and persevering force...
News | PET Imaging | June 22, 2016
June 22, 2016 — Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) have a collective reputation for not responding very well to...
News | PET-CT | June 20, 2016
June 20, 2016 — Prostate cancer is the leading cancer among men, second only to skin cancer. With surgical removal at...
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PET images taken on Philips’ Vereos PET/CT at Methodist Hospital in Omaha, Neb., show a lung lesion. Caveat: Because results may vary, “results from case studies are not predictive of results in other cases,” Philips cautioned. Images courtesy of Omaha’s Methodist Hospital
Blog | PET Imaging | November 07, 2018
Precision can have an enormous impact on patients.
From diagnosis to patient monitoring (see “How Digital PET/CT Can...
Topographical correspondence of tau- but not amyloid-pathology with neuronal dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease
Right lateral surface of projected z-score images, reflecting deviation from healthy controls
Yellow/red: higher uptake, blue: lower uptake as compared to controls
Image courtesy of G. Bischof, J. Hammes, T. van Eimeren, A. Drzezga, Multimodal Neuroimaging Group, Dept. of Nuclear Medicine, University of Cologne; B. Neumaier, Institute of Radiochemistry and Experimental Molecular Imaging University of Cologne; J. Dronse, O. Onur, J. Kukolja, G. Fink, F. Jessen, Center for Memory Disorders, Depts. of Neurology & Psychiatry, University of Cologne; and K. Fliessbach, Dept. of Neurology, University of Bonn.
Feature | PET Imaging | June 20, 2016
June 20, 2016 — Positron emission tomography (PET) with three different radiotracers can now measure amyloid plaques,...
News | Prostate Cancer | June 17, 2016
June 17, 2016 — Decatur Memorial Hospital, Decatur, Ill., is now offering C-11 choline positron emission tomography (...
Image courtesy of Pixabay.
Blog | Radiology Imaging | June 15, 2016
Personalized medical care conjures an image of exactness. Precision. Its realization was once believed attainable...
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Podcast | PET Imaging | November 07, 2018
PET is getting ready to venture outside oncology, cardiology and mainstream neurology. High on the list of new clinical...
News | PET Imaging | June 14, 2016
June 14, 2016 — The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) announced a $2 million prize for development of a positron...
News | Nuclear Imaging | June 14, 2016
June 14, 2016 — Philips announced it would be showcasing a variety of nuclear imaging solutions at the Society of...
Decreased mGluR5 availability in the brain of alcohol dependent individuals compared to healthy subjects. Image courtesy of Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imagine UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
News | PET-CT | June 13, 2016
June 13, 2016 — An emerging molecular imaging technique may provide a way to break the perpetual cycle of abuse of...
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Each digital photon counter in the Vereos PET/CT detector contains thousands of solid-state sensors that digitally count individual photons.
Blog | PET-CT | October 17, 2018
Analog is approximate. Digital is specific. Therein lies the fundamental difference between digital PET and its analog...
News | Nuclear Imaging | June 09, 2016
June 9, 2016 — At the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), Siemens...
News | PET-CT | June 07, 2016
June 7, 2016 — A recent pilot study reported in the June issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine found that sodium...
Technology | Radiopharmaceuticals and Tracers | June 07, 2016
June 7, 2016 — Blue Earth Diagnostics Ltd. and Siemens’ PETNET Solutions Inc. announced the commercial availability of...
A PET-CT head and neck cancer scan showing various image reconstructions. The top left image is the separate CT scan showing the anatomy. The top right scan shows the fused PET and CT scans with false color added to help interpret the image. The bottom left scan is an initial FDG PET image showing tracer hot spots in the neck and a lymph node in the right jaw due to cancer. The right bottom image is a delayed enhancement scan showing tracer uptake over time, with normal hot spots in the bladder, kidneys, testicles and brain, which normally have higher metabolic activity. The low-grade gray shading of the anatomy is due to the normal cellular metabolism uptake of the FDG throughout the body.
Feature | PET Imaging | June 03, 2016 | Dave Fornell
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear imaging technology (also referred to as molecular imaging) that enables...
This figure shows brain glucose metabolism as evidenced by positron emission tomography with [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (PET-FDG) at rest in patients with chronic disorders of consciousness (vegetative state and minimally conscious patients) and fully conscious control subjects. Please notice the dramatic drop in brain glucose metabolism from full consciousness to the minimal conscious and persistent vegetative states. Image courtesy of Stender et al.
News | Nuclear Imaging | June 01, 2016
June 1, 2016 — Researchers have new evidence that readily obtainable measures of the amount of glucose (sugar) consumed...
Graphic courtesy Pixabay
Blog | Radiology Imaging | June 01, 2016
Cancer screening is the only circumstance in which apparently healthy people subject themselves purposely to an agent...
News | PET Imaging | May 25, 2016
May 25, 2016 — Positron emission tomography (PET) is used commonly in the diagnosis of suspected lung cancer. Computed...
A study using a new PET imaging agent shows that measures of tau protein in the brain more closely track cognitive decline due to Alzheimer's disease compared with long-studied measures of amyloid beta. More red color indicates more tau protein. The image on the left shows the average tau accumulation in the brains of cognitively normal people, averaged over many individuals. The image on the right shows the average amount of tau buildup in the brains of multiple people with mild Alzheimer's symptoms. Scanning multiple individuals shows that the intensity of tau deposits correlates with the severity of cognitive dysfunction. Image courtesy of Matthew R. Brier.
News | PET Imaging | May 12, 2016
May 12, 2016 — A buildup of plaque and dysfunctional proteins in the brain are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. While...
