As the name suggests, PET/CT scan is a combination of a PET Scan and a CT Scan. This blog will provide you with all the info about this scan method including what is PET/CT scan, what diagnosis will cover a PET scan, are PET scans used for heart disease diagnosis, and are CT scans or PET scans better for cancer diagnosis.
What is PET/CT Scan?
PET/CT scans are conducted via combined PET/CT scanners and provide highly accurate information for a more precise diagnosis of the health condition. The diagnosis provided by PET/CT scanners is much more exact as compared to that provided by a PET Scan and CT Scan on their own.
Healthcare professionals term this combining of scans as image fusion or co-registration. This image fusion enables them to link & analyse information from two separate diagnostic scans on a single image.
- Diagnose cancer
- Find out if cancer has spread in the body
- Discover whether cancer has come back after treatment
- Find out the consequences of a heart attack myocardial infarction on heart areas
- Determine heart muscle areas that would benefit from coronary artery bypass surgery or angioplasty
- Map normal human heart & brain function
- Assess brain abnormalities, like tumors, memory disorders, seizures and other central nervous system disorders
PET/CT for Cancer
The most accurate imaging scan for detecting cancer, PET/CT scan helps diagnose various different types of cancer. Moreover, it also helps determine the severity of cancer and how far it has spread in the body, enabling healthcare professionals to understand the stage it’s in.
This, in turn, helps them plan and decide the treatment procedure to be followed for treating the cancer. Once the treatment has begun, PET/CT scan then assists in understanding its effectiveness and finding out whether the cancer has returned after treatment.
PET/CT for Heart
A cardiac PET/CT scan delivers enhanced accuracy, reduced radiation & better efficiency when diagnosing coronary artery disease compared to existing nuclear stress testing techniques (SPECT). In addition, it helps find out the effects of a heart attack on various areas of the heart.
This scan is especially beneficial for patients with a higher BMI or a large amount of breast/chest wall tissue, breast implants, or pleural or pericardial effusions. It helps make a distinction between a damaged heart muscle from infarction, which might require angioplasty or surgery.
PET/CT for Brain Disorder
Brain PET/CT scan is a very safe, effective & non-invasive diagnostic scan technique that generates extensively detailed pictures of the brain. It displays metabolic changes that would otherwise not be visible on a CT or MRI scan.
It helps detect the brain disorder, select the ideal treatment and then find out its impact. It’s utilised for various conditions like epilepsy, evaluating the function of a brain tumor, the effectiveness of surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy in patients with brain tumors & assessing brain damage caused by trauma.
Conclusion
A PET/CT scan is a highly precise diagnostic scan for cancer, cardiovascular issues and brain disorders. The scan generally lasts for 30 minutes to an hour, with the results usually provided within 1-2 weeks.
If you have been prescribed a PET/CT scan, then contact us 24×7 on 9504555555 to schedule an appointment at our world-class diagnostic centre in Thane.
