How PET Scan Work
You may be interested in how PET Scan work and what the mechanism behind the images we get is.
Before the scan, you will be given an injection called a radiopharmaceutical. It attaches to chemicals that are naturally used in the metabolic processes of organs and tissues. Therefore, the cells of your body usually pick up this color.
Cancer cells consume more of this color because they are more metabolized than other cells.
When cells take up this pigment, PET scans track this radioactive tracer in the body. It works with the help of a scanning device.
The PET scanner slowly moves the part of the body or tissue to be examined. When this radioactive tracer breaks down to produce gamma rays, positrons are released. Computer scanners detect these gamma rays and use this information to create image maps of tissues or organs.
The amount of radiotracer collected in the tissue determines how bright the tissue looks in the image, which indicates the level of function of the organ or tissue.
CT scans take cross-sectional images and process x-ray images of the body from different angles. Finally, PET and CT combine these images on a computer that provides detailed 3D results to help visualize abnormalities such as tumors and biochemical changes in the body, allowing doctors to plan appropriate treatments. Allows you to choose.
