MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

Pet ScanPET scans, brief for Positron Emission Tomography, can detect areas of cancer by obtaining photographs of the body’s cells as they work. First, you are injected with a substance made up of sugar and a small quantity of radioactive materials. Cancer cells are usually more lively than regular cells, and they take in more of the radioactive sugar as a result. A particular digicam then scans the body to choose up any highlighted” areas on a computer screen. This helps radiologists determine areas the place cells are suspiciously lively, which might point out most cancers. Once medical doctors know the place to look, further evaluation can be completed with different techniques. One example is a mixed PET and CT Scan (generally known as PET/CT), obtainable in some centers.

Before a PET scan, inform your doctor or nurse about all the medicines you take. Ask if you happen to ought to take them the day of your scan. Also, point out any allergic reactions and other medical circumstances. If you’re breastfeeding or is likely to be pregnant, inform your doctor. A PET scan could possibly be dangerous for the child. The radiopharmaceutical comprises a small amount of a radioactive isotope blended with glucose (a type of sugar). Researchers, particularly those concerned in how the brain capabilities, get a substantial amount of very important knowledge from PET scans.

First the radiographer provides you an injection of a really small quantity of radioactive drug (tracer). After the injection you rest for about an hour. You then go into the scanning room and lie in your back on a slim bed. The mattress moves by way of the scanner. The scan can take up to an hour. Areas where the injected radiopharmaceutical gathers (for instance, fast-growing most cancers cells) seem ‘brighter’ than regular tissues on the images. Read our extra detailed articles about particular areas of medication, conditions, vitamin and forms of treatment.

Tell your doctor and the nuclear medication staff in case you are pregnant, think chances are you’ll be pregnant or if you are breastfeeding. When you arrive in your PET scan, the nuclear medicine specialist will also study the information you bring with you. Either they or the nuclear medicine scientist will take a full medical historical past and speak to you concerning the PET scan.

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