UT-Southwestern Medical Center Installs PEM

January 12, 2012 — UT-Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, has acquired and installed a high-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) scanner - produced by Naviscan, Inc. - the breast application for Positron Emission Mammography (PEM). The scanner will be used both for clinical patients as well as for research focused on lowering radiation dose and novel radiotracers. UT-Southwestern ranks among the top academic medical centers in the world and was ranked as the best hospital in Dallas by U.S. News & World Report in 2011.

PEM imaging shows the location as well as the metabolic phase of a lesion. This information is critical in determining whether a lesion is malignant and influences the course of treatment by providing an ability to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions, what researchers term “specificity.” Recent studies have demonstrated that PEM has similar sensitivity and higher specificity than breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The scanner is the only FDA-cleared, CE-certified 3-D Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) device on the market with biopsy-guidance.

For more information: www.naviscan.com