Clinical Indications for PET/CT
-
Breast cancer
-
Colorectal cancer
-
Esophageal cancer
-
Head and neck cancer
-
Lung cancer
-
Lymphoma
-
Melanoma
-
Thyroid cancer
-
Heart disease
-
Epilepsy
-
Alzheimer's Disease
What are the benefits of PET/CT to providers?
PET/CT allows for improved tumor detection and localization. With PET/CT, we improve management of oncology patient care by having more accurate disease diagnosis, better staging and monitoring of disease, and better radiation therapy treatment planning.
What are the benefits for patients?
The CT images provide anatomical information whereas PET images provide information on function or metabolism. Therefore, the PET/CT fused images provide information on both anatomy and function. Conveniently, the patient undergoes just one study on a single piece of equipment without having to get off the bed.
What technology is used?
CT scans are based upon the transmission of X-rays through the body. An X-ray tube rotates and exposes the patient to X-ray radiation. Detectors measure the radiation transmitted through the patient's body. Diseased tissue absorbs X-rays differently from healthy tissue and may be recognizable on the CT images.
In PET, a small amount of a radiopharmaceutical is injected into the patient and is metabolized by cells. The patient is surrounded by radiation detectors that are designed to measure the high-energy gamma radiation. Uptake is different between diseased and healthy tissue and cancer may be recognizable on the PET images.
By fusing the CT and PET images, physicians cannot only identify a tumor (PET), but may pinpoint its location (CT). PET/CT may identify single or primary tumors as well as metastatic disease.
What should the patient expect?
The referring physician will schedule the procedure with Forsyth Medical Center's Nuclear Medicine Department. The patient should not eat or drink anything, except water, after midnight before the study. Persons with diabetes should not take insulin six hours prior to the procedure.
A nuclear medicine technologist will escort the patient to the PET/CT Suite. The technologist will review the patient's history and will measure his or her glucose (blood sugar) level.
In a private room, a small amount of radioactive material will be injected into the patient. He or she will rest in this room for one hour, which allows for the radiopharmaceutical to localize in the regions of interest in the body.
Next, the patient will be taken to the PET/CT scanner room. In the PET/CT scanner room, the patient will lie on a bed that slides into the center of the scanner. A quick CT scan is completed followed by the PET scan. The total time for the scan is approximately 30 minutes. The patient should allow two hours for the entire study, from beginning to end.
Contact Information and Office Hours
For questions or for more information, please contact (336) 718-5166. Our office hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
