P.E.T.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanning is a nuclear diagnostic tool used mainly to detect and assess cancers, neurological conditions and cardiovascular disease. It has advantages such as accuracy and clarity superior to other forms of nuclear imaging. Since its development in the early 1970s, PET scanning has come to be considered the best way to monitor the presence of and recurrence of cancer. Despite its reputation for being an excellent diagnostic tool in oncology, PET scanning is especially useful for use in patients with neurological disorders.

PET scans are acquired by injecting a radioactive agent (radiopharmaceutical) which emits gamma rays into the patient, and measuring the gamma ray emissions with a PET scanner. A PET scan machine basically consists of gamma ray detectors that surround the patient - similar to a CT or MRI machine. Using the radioactive emissions given off by the radiopharmaceutical, PET tracks the progression of metabolic processes occurring in the body. A computer receives these signals and then generates them into images.

Using PET scans to monitor brain activity and function is especially effective because of the particular radiopharmaceutical most often used - Fluorodeoxyglucose. Developed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, New York, Fluorodeoxyglucose was first administered to living subjects in 1976. Fluorodeoxyglucose is a solution of a radioactive isotope mixed with glucose. Because the brain requires large amounts of glucose to function, Fluorodeoxyglucose tends to be incorporated quickly into the entire brain structure, making for good visualization of neural processes. PET scanning is useful when looking for disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Epilepsy. The ability to see how glucose metabolism in a neurologically diseased brain differs from glucose metabolism in a normal brain has made definitive diagnosis possible for conditions - Alzheimer's for example - which used to require autopsy for such.

Here are a few interesting sites for you to read regarding the latest medical technology

Stem Cell Storage is fast becomming the new option for possible cures for cell related illnesses such as Leukaemia. This site has the latest news.

Radiology Info explains in detail PET.