PET/CT imaging is a hybrid imaging system that maximizes the clinical benefits of both PET and CT imaging in one system.  PET, or positron emission tomography, is a diagnostic tool used by physicians to look at the metabolic processes in the body. Patients are injected with a radiotracer - a short lived radioactive marker attached to a substance the body uses regularly (sugar, water). The tracer is injected into a vein. The tracer accumulates in the tissues throughout the body.

CT, or computed tomography, us an x-ray technique that produces images of your internal organs. An x-ray generating device rotates around your body, and a computer creates cross sectional images or slices of the inside of your body.

With a PET/CT system we are able to able to see the functioning system along with the anotomy of your body.  With a computer we are able to fuse the two techniques together to create an image.

The patient lies flat on the scanner table and moves slowely through the opening in the scanner. The scan will take 15-45 minutes depending on the areas of the body that need to be included.

Brain tumors, epilepsy, and memory disorder studies account for the majority of the neuro-imaging studies we perform, while  cardiac and oncology are the predominant body study.

    Three radio tracers are used for clinical PET imaging at Duke. O-15 labeled water and N-13 labeled ammonia are used to measure blood flow in the body and the heart, respectively.  FDG, a F-18 labeled sugar molecule, is used to measure metabolism throughout the body.  Many other tracers are under development.