Non-invasive Differentiation of Benign and Malignant Lesions

Recent advances in PET technology are particularly applicable in the fields of oncology, neurology and cardiology. PET is fundamentally different from anatomical imaging modalities such as CT and MR because it can assess chemical or physiological changes related to metabolism. In the body, these changes often lead to increased metabolic activity that can be visualized with 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and PET. Because the origins of human disease are often genetic and biochemical in nature, functional change frequently predates and/or exceeds structural change in tissue and organs. Therefore, PET images of physiology can often be used to detect pathological changes well in advance of other diagnostic imaging procedures, or a combination of other tests.

Suspected Lung Cancer (Patient) - RML Mass
PET Case Study - RML Mass
Comparison Chart PET/CT (Lung Cancer)

Accurate Staging of Initial Disease and Detection of Recurrences

Cancers are shown as areas of high activity since their cells require energy to multiply, thus, they appear as bright areas in the images.

Quantitative Monitoring of Therapeutic Effects

Not only does PET allow for early diagnosis of disease, it enables clinicians to monitor the efficiency of patient therapy, eliminate many invasive procedures, replace multiple tests and provide presurgical assessment of the prognosis following surgical procedures, thus eliminating surgeries unlikely to benefit the patient.

Colorectal Cancer (Patient)
PET Case Study - Colon Cancer
Comparison Chart PET/CT (Colon Cancer)