PET Scan Analysis

Medical imaging is used to create visual images of the interior part of the body so that it would be easier to examine, diagnose & treat patients without the need of surgical processes. This process is used to see what is beneath the skins and bones to find any abnormalities present.

The photons are then tracked by a tomographic scintillation counter, and the information is processed by a computer to provide both image and data on blood flow and metabolic processes within bodily tissues. PET scans are particularly useful for diagnosing brain tumor and the effects of strokes on the brain, along with various mental illnesses. They are also used in brain research and in mapping of brain functions.

In both X-rays and CT scans, a form of radiation is emitted and travels through the body, and a detector receives the unabsorbed rays and transmits them to a computer. The physics behind PET scanning is quite different. Basically, a person is injected with a radioactive substance. This substance begins the process of

In nuclear medicine diagnosing techniques, a very small amount of radioactive material is introduced into the body. Because medical isotopes are attracted to specific organs, bones or tissues, the emissions they produce can provide crucial information about a particular type of cancer or disease. Information gathered during a nuclear medicine technique is more comprehensive than other imaging procedures because it describes organ function, not just structure. The result is that many diseases and cancers can be diagnosed much earlier.

Stakeholders are those individuals invested in a specific project. The stakeholders involved in this evaluation project comprise patients who are 50 years old and older, radiology technologists, referring providers such as general physicians, family physicians and internists, HIT analyst/technician and office managers at referring providers practices, statistician, medical physicists, radiologist assistants, radiologist, gastroenterologist, researchers, and office staff at the Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ACR, 2014).

History of Present Illness: Ms. Dall is a very pleasant woman who has a very extensive smoking history. She has obtained an initial CT scan, which showed a right upper lobe pulmonary nodule. She has subsequent PET scan and she is here today for followup of those results as well as pulmonary function testing. She continues to smoke about a pack a day and is not willing to quit at this point.

Diagnostic imaging such as MRI, PET/CT scans and X-Rays all allow doctors to “see” inside your body. This type of imaging takes photographs of your bones and organs, allowing them to much more easily narrow down the cause of a disease or injury. As great and helpful as this may sound, it is not always such an easy thing for a patient to endure. It is not that the procedure is harmful or even painful, but many times claustrophobia, fear of test results, and the anxiety of going through a procedure that they are not familiar with can cause a patient to become very fearful and stressed. It is very important that the technician communicate with the patient and help them to remain calm and at ease. How can we improve communication between the patient and the technologist? Is it possible to reduce anxiety in someone who suffers from claustrophobia during imaging?

Positron-Emission Tomography (PET) scan is a medical test that allows doctors to check the human body for any diseases. Doctors use the PET scan for many things, the main uses are checking for cancer, heart-related (Cardiovascular) diseases and brain (neurological) diseases. It also allows doctors to check organs and tissues and to see how they are working. PET scanners are a way of tracking diseases, using radioactive tracking that is injected into a vein in your arm, that is then absorbed by your organs and tissues.

Fluorine-18 is the most frequently used radioisotope in Positron Emission Tomography and the radiopharmaceutical industry. “PET is imaging for cancer. Fluorine-18 is synthesised into fluorodeoxyglucose for PET.” (Wikipedia). It is a nuclear medicine functional imaging technique that is used to observe metabolic processes in the body as an aid to the diagnosis of disease.

Positron emission tomography is used for research and medical diagnosis of soft tissue in humans and animals. It uses radioactive drug tracers that are swallowed, injected, or inhaled into the body, to produce radioactive emissions that are then detected with a computer tomographer (Mayo Clinic 2013). This computer tomographer creates an image much like a camera makes an image on film, when exposed to light (Denniston 2014). The scans are then used to produce three dimensional images that provide information on a targeted body system. When interpreting the images, diseased areas of an organ, are identified by dense regions of the radioactive drug tracer. Some of the area's of the body commonly scanned are blood, bone, brain,

A CAT scan can detect calcium deposits found in atherosclerotic plaque present in the coronary arteries of patients with heart disease. Because technology has advanced greatly, a CAT scan also has the ability to effectively detect coronary calcification from atherosclerosis even before the symptoms begin to advance. If a large amount of coronary calcium is found, this gives a doctor the indication of more coronary atherosclerosis, suggesting a greater likelihood of significant narrowing that is present within in the coronary system and indicating that the patient has a higher risk of potential cardiovascular problems. If calcium is detected within the arteries, the computer will create what is known as a calcium "score". This “score” approximates

Positron emission tomograph (PET) is a medical imaging procedure that provides unique information about how an organ or system in the body is functioning. PET scans are mainly used to assess cancers, neurological diseases and cardiovascular disease. PET scan involves the injection of a small amount of a ‘positron-emitting’ radioactive material, often referred to as a radiopharmaceutical. Images of the body are then taken using a PET scanner. The camera used is able to detect emissions coming from the injected radiopharmaceutical. The specialised computer attached to the camera manipulates the image creating two and three-dimensional images of the area that is being examined. Areas where the injected radiopharmaceutical gathers appear much ‘brighter’

PET scan stands for positron emission tomography and is a type of nuclear imaging technique. The PET scan also measures the metabolic activities of the brain. It allows the doctors to check if there are diseases in the body. This scan uses radioactive tracers and radionuclide. The tracer is injected into the vain in our arm and is absorbed by the surrounding tissues which are picked by the scanner. The body will react to the tracer so that it can indicate the condition of the tissues. The PET scan can also measure blood flow, oxygen use, drug activity, glucose metabolism and tissue pH in the body. PET scans are commonly used to detect if the person has cancer, heart problems or brain disorders. Radionuclides which are used in the PET scan are

The study of positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scanning effectiveness in supporting better public health outcomes has been proven with the accuracy these devices provide in diagnosing illnesses and potentially sever medial conditions. The costs of a PET scanning system can easily surpass $1M in system costs alone however (Wagner, 1988). SPECT systems are equally expensive which make both of these systems' availability limited to only the most prosperous and wealthy areas of the world (Lejeune, Zahouri, Woronoff-lemsi,, et.al., 2005). One study indicated that over 95% of scans from these systems are entirely paid for by insurance programs that have specific preconditions defined for patients as the average cost can easily exceed $20,000 per full scan (Lejeune, Zahouri, Woronoff-lemsi,, et.al., 2005). The intent of this analysis is to evaluate the effectiveness of PET and SPECT scans in supporting better health outcomes, in addition to analyzing the benefits of these technologies to who has access to their tests. There is also an analysis of the diseases these technologies are most adept at diagnosing.

examination that uses positively charged particles. The particles are radioactive positrons that detect changes in the body's metabolism and chemical activities. Positrons are tiny particles emitted from a radioactive