PET Scan cost - ChooseDoctor Healthcare.

PET is an abbreviation for Positron Emission tomography, it uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers, a special camera and a computer to help evaluate the organ and tissue functions. By identifying body changes at the cellular level, PET may detect the early onset of disease before it is evident on other imaging tests.

Nuclear medicine procedures are able to pinpoint molecular activity within the body and they offer the potential to identify disease in its earliest stages as well as a patient’s immediate response to therapeutic interventions. Nuclear medicine imaging uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose and determine the severity of disease or treat a variety of diseases, including many types of cancers, heart disease, gastrointestinal, endocrine, neurological disorders and other abnormalities within the body. These procedures are non-invasive and painless medical tests that help physicians diagnose and evaluate medical conditions. A PET scan machine measures important body functions, such as blood flow, oxygen use and sugar/glucose metabolism to help doctors evaluate how well organs and tissues are functioning. A PET scan procedure is used to detect cancerous tissues and cells in the body that may not always be found through CT or MRI.

Uses of PET CT scan:

• Detect cancer cells/tumours
• Determine whether the cancer has spread in the body and the extent
• Assess the effectiveness of a cancer therapy
• Determine if a cancer has returned after treatment
• Evaluate brain abnormalities such as tumors, memory disorders, seizures and other central nervous system disorders.

• A very small amount of radioactive substance called a tracer (an example of commonly used drug is called fluorodeoxyglucose - FDG) is introduced into your blood. This is done by inserting a needle into the arm vein and administering the tracer with a syringe through the needle.
• The tracer then flows with the blood while slowly accumulating in the tissues and organs. This usually takes about 1 hour.
• The Radiologist Technologist will then ask you to empty your bladder and lie on a flat scanner bed.
• You will be slid into the tunnel-shaped scanner for 20-30 minutes, during which the scanner will detect signals emitted by the tracer which had built-up in your organs.
• The Technologist will ask you to remain still on the bed, while the test is being performed, because lots of movements produce blurry images, making reading and interpretation of the images difficult.
• The scanner is hooked up to 3D computer which records the signals and use them to create images which a Radiologist Specialist is able to read and interpret.
• When all the images are taken, you will be slid out of the scanner, which means the test is completed.
• In certain disease conditions, the tracer build-up and metabolism is either
  • Abnormally high (called hotspot) as in the case of cancer, because the cells in that organ location are overgrowing; or
  • Very low (called cold spot), as in Alzheimer’s disease, because most of the cells have been destroyed in the organs.

          These differences, compared to normal tracer uptake and metabolism make it possible to detect which part of an organ is affected by a disease.

Advanced nuclear imaging technique combines Positron Emission Tomography scan (PET) and Computed Tomography (CT) into one scanning machine. A PET CT scan reveals information about both the structure and function of cells and tissues in the body during a single imaging session. Images acquired from both devices in the same session are combined into a single superposed co-registered image. Thus, functional imaging obtained by PET, which depicts the spatial distribution of metabolic or biochemical activity in the body can be more precisely aligned or correlated with anatomic imaging obtained by CT scanning.

The PET CT scanner detects pairs of gamma rays that are emitted indirectly by a tracer-positron-emitting radionuclide, which is placed in the body on a biologically active molecule. The images are reconstructed by computer analysis. CT imaging uses special X-ray equipment and in some cases a contrast material to produce multiple images or pictures of the inside of the body. These images can then be interpreted by a radiologist on a computer monitor. 

The day your doctor advises the PET CT scan

• Convey all your medical conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, hypertension and diabetes etc.
• Diabetic patients receive special instructions to prepare from PET scan centers.
• Convey about prescription and over the counter medications including vitamins and herbal supplements.
• Any known allergies.
• Let your doctor know if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

When you schedule an appointment for the test, the staff at the facility will tell you how to prepare for the PET CT scan on the day before the test and on the day of your test.

The Day before the PET CT Scan test

• Eat low carbohydrate diet.
• Drink lots of fluids to keep hydrated.
• Expect to spend about 4-5 hours at the facility.
• All previous medical records, old PET CT report & CD, recent serum creatinine report.

The Day of the PET CT Scan test

• Take all the medical records.
• Follow the instructions given with respect to your intake of routine daily medication.
• If you are diabetic, follow the doctors instructions about medicines - be very specific about the insulin that you may be taking.
• Plan on 4-5 hours stay at the facility for the whole procedure.
• Do not eat 6-8 hours before your scan as instructed and drink only water.
• Wear comfortable and loose outfit with no metal decorations or change into a hospital gown to avoid scanning interference.
• Remove all metal objects like coins, jewelry, hair pins, hearing aids and dentures.

After your PET CT scan

• You will be advised to drink lots of fluid for the rest of the day to help flush the tracer from your system.
• The PET results will be interpreted by Radiologist Specialist and is usually ready within 3 days.

• No side effects or adverse events have been reported after having PET test.
• Nobody has reported pain or discomfort. However, a prick of the needle used to administer the tracer might cause a bit of redness or swell, like what you will experience when you give blood samples for lab tests.
• The tracer introduced into your body is safe, it has very low radioactivity which is not sufficient to cause any illness.
• The radioactivity of the tracer disappears from the body 2-10 hours after PET procedure. Just make sure you drink plenty fluids for the rest of the day to flush it out with urine.
• As a safety precaution, don’t hold or be in close contact with children until the day after your PET scan test.