Positron emission tomography/computed tomography is a hybrid nuclear medicine imaging technique that helps radiologists spot abnormal metabolic activity. PET/CT is commonly used to diagnose cancers, heart diseases and certain brain disorders, among other conditions.
The exam effectively helps providers manage patients’ treatment options, but for some, the costs associated with those treatments may negate the value of its findings.
Targeting CXCR4 during PET scans could help providers gain vital information regarding patients' potential to fully recover from myocardial infarction.
Beyond amyloidosis, nuclear cardiology is also increasingly used to image inflammation and infection in the myocardium, especially in diseases such as cardiac sarcoidosis and myocarditis.
PET has already gained significant momentum in recent years. Now, researchers are pointing to another possible use for the popular imaging modality: assessing carotid artery atherosclerosis.
In the study, patients who had recovered from an COVID infection were injected with a small amount of the 89Zr-labeled radiotracer before undergoing a uExplorer PET/CT scan.
A Canadian manufacturer of positron emission tomography equipment has received FDA’s OK to market a small-footprint scanner that images targeted organs bearing radiotracers at close range.
A clinical trial pitting MRI against a burgeoning PET/CT technique has found the de facto defending champion better at revealing the presence of any grade of prostate cancer.
One of the largest private health insurers in the U.S. has gone from considering hybrid PET/CT for cardiac indications “experimental/investigational” to displaying willingness to pay for the modality.
PET/CT imaging in these patients increases overall survival depending on the cancer’s stage, with those diagnosed with stage 3A and 3B NSCLC appearing to benefit the most from the exam.