Now offering PET/CT to further meet the needs of your patients. By combining PET with CT, West Coast Radiology Centers now offers the next dimension in diagnostic imaging.
How is PET/CT different from other imaging techniques?
PET evaluates the chemical and physiological changes related to metabolism, since functional changes may occur long before the structural damage can be seen. This may
allow detection of disease well before other imaging modalities. In some instances, early detection and treatment can have a major impact on patient outcomes.
Moreover, the integration of metabolic data from PET and anatomical data from CT allows clinicians to better view the structural detail, location of and changes in tissue.
This fusion of PET and CT is an invaluable asset in directing treatment planning. Also, a single PET/CT scan can give information about the functioning of the entire body. This is critical in many instances, especially in oncology where additional tumors and the spread of disease can be detected and measured with a single test. The replacement of multiple tests is a great convenience for patients and physicians, as the extent of disease is established more rapidly and with greater confidence.
The most common applications of PET/CT are in the fields of oncology, cardiology, and neurology.
ONCOLOGY is the most important application of PET/CT and provides vital diagnostic information that can alter the course of cancer treatment and sometimes help to avoid unnecessary surgery. PET, alone or in combination with other diagnostic tests such as CT and MRI, provides critical information about whether a tumor is malignant or benign, the aggressiveness of cancer, whether it has spread to other organs, monitoring of cancer recurrences, and monitoring the effectiveness of treatment therapy.
CARDIOLOGY is another important application where PET/CT provides a high level of accuracy in assessing myocardial perfusion and viability. NEUROLOGY, PET/CT provides accurate information to localize the areas of the brain causing epileptic seizures and to determine if surgery is an option. PET is also of value in the diagnosis and assessment of Alzheimers.
