A positron emission tomography or Pet scan is a unique form of imaging test that can assist your physician in determining how your tissues and organs are functioning.

In comparison to other scanning methodologies, a Pet scan isn't designed to show structural detail of your organs. But instead, it shows pictures that contain intense color providing data about chemical activity within certain organs and tissues. This chemical activity can be indicative of disease in areas that has not been previously detected by other scanning methods.

A Pet Scan can assist your doctor in evaluating conditions such as:

• Neurological disease

• Heart disease

• Infections

• Certain inflammatory diseases

• Cancer

• Alzheimer's Disease

• Brain disorders

The Procedure

Your nurse or an x-ray technician will escort you into an exam room with the Pet scanner. The scanner itself is easily detectable it has a hole in the middle and looks like a large doughnut. Inside the Pet machine are multiple rings of detectors that record the emission of energy from the radioactive substance in your body, creating an image of a specific part of your body.

You will be asked to lie down on the exam table; an in IV will be started so that you can receive a radioactive substance called radiotracer. It will take approximately 30 to 60 minutes for the radiotracer to make its way through your body and be absorbed by the organ or tissue to be imaged. During that time, you'll rest quietly and avoid movement or talking, because this can alter the distribution of the substance. The radioactive substance in your body cannot be felt by you.

Once the radioactive substance has been absorbed, still lying on the exam table, you will be moved through the hole of the machine. The images are displayed on a monitor of a nearby computer. You will need to remain as still as possible during the exam, which takes about 30-45 minutes.

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