Positron Emission Tomography
New device will add to imaging capabilities
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| (PET) Positron Emission Tomography |
A new diagnostic imaging technology will soon be at Children's
Hospital Boston. In January 2004, the Division of Nuclear Medicine
will begin imaging patients in its new Positron Emission Tomography
(PET) scanner. It will be one of the few such machines in the
country used exclusively for pediatrics.
"This will be a tremendous benefit to our patients, because PET
allows us to see functional distribution and changes in the body,"
says S.
Ted Treves, MD, chief of the Division of Nuclear
Medicine. A three-dimensional imaging technique that depicts the
distribution of radiopharmaceuticals within the body, PET can
help diagnose disease very early. "This will complement our existing
diagnostic imaging instruments, such as SPECT [Single Photon Emission
Tomography], MRI and CT. The addition of PET enhances our team's
ability to obtain the highest quality studies in the safest possible
way," says Dr. Treves.
"PET is an exciting technology because it provides exquisite
details of regional function in the human body," says Dr. Treves.
Because PET allows the assessment of chemical and physiological
changes related to function and metabolism, and these alterations
often take place well before physical or anatomical changes occur,
PET can be a key tool for very early diagnosis of disease.
PET has already proven extremely useful to Children's Oncology,
Neurology and Cardiology units. With respect to cancer, the technology
can help determine whether certain tumors are active or inactive
and if they have spread locally, or to distant locations from
the primary tumor. In addition, images obtained with PET are often
used in conjunction with other imaging modalities such as CT and
MRI to help localize changes within the body. Combining a three-dimensional
PET, an MRI and a CT can help determine the precise anatomic location
of active lesions and help optimize radiation oncology or surgical
planning. Another important property of PET is that it allows
physicians to assess the success of therapeutic interventions
early, by means of serial scans.
Brain disorders such epilepsy and brain tumors can also be evaluated
using PET. Other conditions such as behavioral, learning, metabolic
and cerebrovascular disorders also benefit from PET assessment.
Utilizing standard diagnostic imaging procedure called SPECT along
with PET, neurologists and neurosurgeons can more accurately target
the origin of epileptic seizures prior to surgery.
The use of PET scans in pediatric cardiology is relatively new.
PET can be used to detect whether heart muscle has been damaged
in a variety of disorders.
