Imaging technology is a great modern method of learning what is happening inside a person ?s body, but without needing to cut into the body in order to find out. MRI and ultrasound look into the body, X-rays an CAT scans look through the body, while nuclear imaging uses information that starts inside. PET stands for positron emission tomography, and is one example of a nuclear imaging technique.
PET produces images by looking at radiation given off by radioactive atoms. Radioactive atoms of many elements can be made in large particle accelerators, which cause atoms to smash together at nearly the speed of light. when these radioactive atoms break apart, they emit radiation that can be easily detected. for PET scans, the patient is injected with certain compounds obtained from radioactive carbon, fluorine, oxygen or nitrogen atoms. The patient is placed in a tubular scanner, that converts the radiation emitted into electronic signals. The scanner moves back and forth around the are of interest, and then a computer assembles the data into a 3D image. The image obtained will show where the radioactive material has accumulated.
Generally, PET scans are mostly used to detect cancer. The radioactive atoms are used to make sugar molecules that are injected into the body. this way, the radiation will be higher in regions of the body that metabolize the sugar faster. because metabolic rates are higher in cancer cells than in the normal cells around them, PET scans are a great tool in detecting tumors.
However, detecting cancer is not the sole use of PET scans. Other uses include tracing the flow of blood through the system to detect areas of impaired flow, as well as detected areas of the brain that are not functioning properly. Research of the normal function of the brain also uses PET scans, because the scan shows which parts of the brain are most active as the research subject performs a particular task.
What is a PET Scan?
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