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Presbyterian's PET Imaging Center is an outpatient facility located on the campus of Presbyterian Hospital. Parking is available directly outside the center's entrance and patients can register without having to go through hospital admitting. Private patient rooms are used during the preparation period, and the scan itself only lasts 25-30 minutes for most patients.

"Many patients undergoing PET scans have been through a lot in their treatment," said Dr. Robert Quarles, a nuclear radiologist with Mecklenburg Radiology Associates. "We felt it was important to make the experience as comfortable and pleasant as possible for them."

A PET/CT scanner is a camera that produces powerful images of the human body through the combination of positron emission technology (PET) and computed tomography (CT). PET supplies a picture of the metabolic activity in the body, while CT acts as a "road map," showing where the abnormal activity is located.

When a CT scan is performed, a rotating tube passes X-rays through the body and collects them on receptors located on the opposite side. CT gives detailed structural images of the body, but frequently fails to show areas of abnormal function. PET scans gather their data by showing how the body metabolizes a radioactive glucose solution which is injected in the patient. Since functional changes in disease precede structural ones, PET scans often show abnormalities before other types of imaging. The PET/CT machine produces the best of both worlds sensitive functional imaging with an exact structural map.

By seeing how different parts of the body metabolize the glucose, physicians are able to spot abnormal function that could signal disease. For example, active cancer accumulates glucose rapidly, causing "hot spots" to appear on the PET scan. In the heart, if tissue cannot pick up and metabolize the glucose, the tissue is dead. Abnormal glucose metabolism in the brain can identify areas that cause seizures and Alzheimer's disease.

In many instances, PET/CT provides a more complete picture than other diagnostic tests, making it easier for doctors to diagnose problems, determine the extent of disease, prescribe treatment and track progress. PET/CT exposes disease earlier and often more accurately than X-ray, CT or MRI. This advantage eliminates the need for ineffective or unnecessary surgeries, treatments or other diagnostic tests, significantly reducing medical costs, patient discomfort and potential complications.

For more information, contact Presbyterian PET Imaging Center at 704-384-4046.