Positron Emission Tomography / Computed Tomography Scan- PET/CT Scan
Positron Emission Tomography / Computed Tomography ( PET / CT ) is an imaging device created by combining two well-known imaging techniques (PET and CT) in a single system. CT is used for anatomical detail, PET is used for information about the metabolism of organs or tumors. Fusion images obtained by superimposing PET and CT images allow the diagnosis of very small lesions that cannot be distinguished on CT with high accuracy thanks to the increased tumor activity observed in PET.
These two imaging methods can be obtained with PET/CT in a single study, allowing both the diagnosis and localization of the disease, early diagnosis and accurate assessment of disease extent in a short time.
PET results make a very important contribution to your doctor’s diagnosis of your possible health problem. PET study not only contributes to the diagnosis, but also helps your doctor to predict the outcome of different treatment modalities, to choose the most beneficial treatment approach for you, and to evaluate the treatment response; If the treatment response is not sufficient, it helps to direct to more effective treatment methods. PET/CT provides high accuracy diagnosis of recurrent disease and widespread disease (metastases) in the early period.
How is PET/CT done?
You will be taken to our patient preparation room after taking your story about the disease and evaluating your previous films. Here, after the evaluation of your fasting blood sugar by our experienced nurses, your vascular access will be opened for radiopharmaceutical (imaging agent) injection. This radiopharmaceutical (18F-FDG, which is mostly sugar-like molecule) is a radioactive substance that has passed many quality controls before and has no allergic effect. After the radiopharmaceutical injection, you will rest for 30-60 minutes in a lying position for the given substance to disperse into your body. If you have applied for brain imaging, you will be provided with a rest for 20-30 minutes before the radiopharmaceutical injection, in a quiet, dim room, by shutting the brain off to stimuli without reading or listening to anything.
After the rest period after the injection is completed, you will be taken to our shooting room, after you are positioned on the comfortable shooting bed by our technicians, your shooting will begin, which will take 20-25 minutes. During shooting, the bed will move slowly, your body will pass through the annular image acquisition part of the device, so you are not stuck in a confined space. Our PET/CT device is very convenient for our patients with claustrophobia (fear of being in a closed place). During the shooting, you will be expected to lie still, breathing comfortably. Movements can cause evaluation difficulties in images that may sometimes require retakes.
After your shooting is completed, a preliminary evaluation will be made in terms of technical problems in the images. If no additional shots are needed, you can leave our center at any time later. You can have something to eat and drink right after your shoot is complete. PET/CT examination takes 2-3 hours in total, including patient preparation and extraction time.