About: Positron emission tomography   Sponge Permalink

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A Positron Emission Tomography scan or PET Scan is a radiological procedure used for finding particular types of tissues in the body and studying its metabolism. It is often combined with a CT Scan or MRI. The patient is prepared by swallowing a tracer - a special type of radioactive isotope that both binds to living tissue and will emit a positron (a positively charged electron) when it decays. The tracer is added to a chemical that will bind to the tissue under investigation.

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  • Positron emission tomography
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  • A Positron Emission Tomography scan or PET Scan is a radiological procedure used for finding particular types of tissues in the body and studying its metabolism. It is often combined with a CT Scan or MRI. The patient is prepared by swallowing a tracer - a special type of radioactive isotope that both binds to living tissue and will emit a positron (a positively charged electron) when it decays. The tracer is added to a chemical that will bind to the tissue under investigation.
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  • A Positron Emission Tomography scan or PET Scan is a radiological procedure used for finding particular types of tissues in the body and studying its metabolism. It is often combined with a CT Scan or MRI. The patient is prepared by swallowing a tracer - a special type of radioactive isotope that both binds to living tissue and will emit a positron (a positively charged electron) when it decays. The tracer is added to a chemical that will bind to the tissue under investigation. When the chemical with the tracer binds to the organ under investigation, the patient is put in the scanner, which can detect gamma ray photons. When a positron is emitted by the radioactive element, it immediately undergoes mutual annihilation with an electron and emits two gamma ray photons that travel in exactly opposite directions. Although gamma rays are found in normal background radiation, the computer attached to the scanner will only record pairs of photons which reach the scanner at almost precisely the same moment and in a single line leading from the patient's organ. The computer calculates from the delay in arrival where in the body the positron annihilated itself, producing a 3D scan of the organ in question. Modern machines can even take a "motion picture" in time of activity in the organ from a series of 3D scans. It's primary use is in oncology as tracers can be designed which will take up only cancerous cells, therefore allowing a scan to show tumors and even metastasis. It is also used in neurology to track brain activity as the tracers can be attached to a form of glucose, showing where it is used in the brain. Although it is not invasive, the tracer will expose the patient to radioactivity, although not as much radioactivity as a CT Scan.
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