Washington University scientists and physicians at Barnes-Jewish Hospital developed positron emission tomography (PET) nearly 30 years ago, beginning a revolution in diagnostic imaging for oncology patients. Now, those physicians will be the first in Missouri to combine PET and CT scanning to further advance imaging.
Separately, PET and CT (computed tomography) have been valuable tools for nuclear medicine physicians and radiologists in determining the presence and locations of tumors and in planning treatment. But together, the combination of PET and CT in one scanner is thought to be without peer in showing physicians the molecular workings of a patient's body. Nuclear medicine physicians are now using the PET/CT scanner at St. Louis' Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.
"I think PET/CT will become the standard method for diagnostic evaluation of many cancers," says Barry Siegel, M.D., director of the Division of Nuclear Medicine at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University and a staff physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
PET reveals subtle metabolic processes, such as tumor growth, while CT shows anatomical details. Merged, the scanner creates a precise image enabling physicians to quickly view detailed anatomy and the biological processes of internal organs and living tissue at the molecular level in one noninvasive procedure.
"The value of the combined PET/CT scanner is that it brings the two technologies together," says Dr. Siegel. "We end up with an overall end result greater than the sum of its parts."
Interpretation of PET images alone is occasionally quite difficult. Those images are then frequently fused with CT images to help improve interpretations. However, even a slight change in body position during the two scans could lead to a misinterpretation of images. By acquiring both image sets in the same session, a better scan is taken in less than half the time.
"Our goal is to reduce scanning time to approximately 20 minutes, whereas it takes us about an hour now," says Dr. Siegel.
Mallinckrodt Institute's (or MIR's) Clinical PET Center was opened to provide clinical PET services in 1988, and was one of a few facilities in the world that pioneered the evolution of PET from research to medical practice. That experience is important according to Dr. Siegel. "There 's over a hundred collective years in interpreting PET scans here and that's unmatched in St. Louis," says Dr. Siegel.
The PET/CT scanner at the Siteman Cancer Center is the Siemens "biograph," selected by TIME Magazine as one of its "Inventions of the Year" for 2000. Overall, Dr. Siegel thinks the PET/CT scanner is more than just an improvement in the quality of patient care. "I think this is going to transform the PET marketplace," says Dr. Siegel.
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