PET-CT

PET-CT IMAGING

A PET-CT imaging is a combined diagnostic procedure that means the simultaneous use of PET (positron emission tomography), which belongs to nuclear medicine, and CT (computed tomography).

  • During PET scanning, the PET scanner gives functional information of biochemical processes in the human cells and tissues and of metabolic processes in the human body by detecting the distribution of an isotopic tracer introduced into the body.
  • The CT camera scans the anatomy and structure of the body.

In the most up-to-date PET-CT diagnostic devices the PET and CT scanners are built into a single combined imaging system so that the images from a single examination reveal both functional and anatomical information.

PET-CT scanning enables

  • with respect to most malignant tumours
  • their early detection,
  • establishing their severity, and
  • assessing the success of treatment;

as well as the precise and safe examination of:

  • cardiovascular diseases
  • central nervous system diseases, and
  • inflammatory diseases.

During the absolutely painless examination, a substance marked with radioactive isotope is introduced to the patient by intravenous injection. Most often it is grape sugar molecules that are marked with the radioactive positron isotope. The sugar-like substance injected is taken up by cells depending on the intensity of their metabolism. The more intensive the metabolism of a cell is, the more sugar it uses within a given time frame. Due to their uncontrolled proliferation, tumour cells use significantly more sugar than normal cells. After treatment (e.g. chemotherapy) on the other hand, the reduced or dead cells absorb significantly less sugar than normal. Thus this screening makes it possible to reveal live cancer tissue and separate it from cancer cells that died as a consequence of successful treatment.

 

PET-CT – The early diagnosis of tumours

PET-CT scans as up-to-date combined imaging diagnostic procedures provide great help in detecting most types of cancerous diseases with high reliability, determining the exact location of existing tumours and the extent of metastases in the body and revealing the early phase of the spreading of tumours. By precisely determining the already developed malignant cancerous diseases they make the targeted selection of the most efficient therapy possible.

Types of PET-CT scans conducted, among others: 
  • PET-CT scans of lung tumours
  • PET-CT scans of gastrointestinal tumours
  • PET-CT scans of breast and cervical tumours
  • PET-CT scans of prostate tumours
Other services - Oncology