PET/CT Scan
Find an Inova location for your PET/CT scan
PET/CT is an advanced medical imaging technique that combines Positron Emission Tomography with Computed Tomography.
PET/CT successfully combines the fine structural detail of a CT with PET's ability to detect changes in cell function. This combination allows for earlier and more accurate diagnosis of disease than either CT or PET alone.
Read
more about PET/CT in this brochure.
How does PET/CT Work?
Cancer cells tend to grow faster
than normal cells. Growing cells use glucose (sugar)
as a primary source of
energy. The faster cells grow, the more glucose is taken up.
A form of glucose called FDG, which emits particles called positrons, is injected into the patient. The FDG molecules are taken up in greater quantity by cancer cells than by normal cells. The result is concentrations of FDG and positrons in areas where cancer cells are located.
A PET/CT scanner detects where positrons are being emitted from wthin a patient and provides images that map the locations. PET FDG mapping is combined with a CT image's structural detail to identify both the presence of disease and its precise location.
