PET Scan, A Revolutionary Diagnostic Advancement and Its Relatables
PET stands for positron emission tomography. It is a diagnostic tool which can efficiently reveal the biomechanical functioning of your tissues and organs. A PET scan uses a tracer or radioactive dye which helps in appreciating the typical and atypical cell behaviour. A PET scan is capable of detecting atypical behaviour earlier than other imaging techniques such as MRI and CT scan, hence offering better prognosis.
What Are The Hybrid Techniques In A PET Scan?
A hybrid PET technique is said when a PET scan is combined with a CT or a MRI Scan. If it is combined with a CT scan it is known as a PET-CT scan and if it is combined with an MRI scan it is known as hybrid PET-MRI scan.
A hybrid technique is used for getting even better visualisation of the underlying conditions.
Uses of A PET Scan?
A PET scan can be used to diagnose various conditions and disorders of the heart, brain or other organs. It can be used for-
- Cancer – cancer cells show as a bright spot in the PET scan images.. PET also helps to tell some other features about cancer such as
- Detecting cancer at foremost
- Revealing the spread of the cancer
- To keep a check on the treatment of the cancer
- For detecting any recurrence of the treated cancer
- There are certain cancers which cannot be detected by a PET scan such as a very small cancer and a noncancerous lesion can be interpreted as a cancer in PET scan images. To differentiate the cancerous lesion from noncancerous lesions you might need a hybrid scan such as PET-CT or PET-MRI scan. A hybrid PET technique can reveal solid tumour types such as-
- Breast cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Head and neck cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Brain cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Cancer of lungs
- Cancer of oesophagus
- Prostate cancer
- Thyroid cancer
- Cancer involving the lymphatic system
- Skin cancer
- Heart Diseases– PET scan can reveal a lot about your heart’s condition including the detecting decrease in blood flow to heart. PET scan can help guide certain procedures such as for opening a clogged heart artery called angioplasty.
- Brain disorders– PET scan is capable of detecting changes into brain activity revealing certain conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, cause for seizures and tumours.
What Are the Risks and Guidelines to Follow for PET Scan?
The PET scan or any other scans are generally conducted following the safety guidelines so as to pose minimum risk. If a contrast medium is administered to you, you need to drink lots of water to get the radioactive contrast flushed out of your body. But otherwise the contrast can get flushed but it may take 24-48 hours, with drinking plenty of water, the rate gets faster.
PET scan can pose risks in certain conditions–
- Pregnancy– the pregnant females or breastfeeding mothers should avoid getting a scan because children are more susceptible to the radiation. If there is an indication for the scan you should avoid getting closer to your child if you are a breastfeeding mother for a few hours and should skip feeding your baby for a few hours.
- Allergic reaction– some people can develop allergic reactions to contrast dye used during a PETscan. These reactions are very less likely to occur and if you develop a mild reaction, they can be treated with medications, only severe allergic reactions need hospitalisation and aggressive care.
- Diabetes- you might need to modify your diet before and after the scan since a diabetic patient is likely to not absorb the sugar in the radioactive tracer hence affecting the results and interpretation.
What Happens During The PET scan?
A PET scan is a painless diagnostic technique. For a PET scan, you need to change your clothes and dress into a hospital gown, then you will be asked to lay on a scanning table which slides into a donut shaped scanner. The scanner makes clicking and tapping sounds while scanning. You need to lie perfectly stable and still during the scan so as to minimise blurring of the scan image. For a typical PET-CT scan it takes approximately 30 minutes and for a PET-MRI scan it might take 45 minutes. You can tell your technician if you feel anxiety or any discomfort during the scan via the intercom facility. Once the scan is complete, the scan table slides out of the scanner and you are free to go home. In certain cases a tracer/contrast dye is injected into your vein, if you have undergone a contrast based PET scan, you might be asked to stay back for a few hours or minutes to look for any allergic reaction and then you will be free to go home.
Conclusion
Diagnosing a disease at an early stage is very difficult and can be a game changer in certain conditions like a cancer which can be fatal if not detected in early stages and can alter the plan of the treatment and thereby affecting prognosis if detected very late. Hence Choosing your diagnostic centre near you is very crucial. The cost of PET scan may vary from place to place. Price takes a backseat when it comes to health but if you can get credibility with cost effectiveness, it is always a lottery. Book your appointment today if you suspect something.
