What is a PET scan?
Why is a PET scan done?
What are the risks of a PET scan?
How do I prepare for a PET scan?
If you’re advised to undergo a PET scan, you should inform the your doctor in advance about any history of allergies, medical history of any significant ailments such as diabetes, and the list of medicines that you take. You also need to inform the doctor if you suspect that you are pregnant, if you are breastfeeding, or if you have claustrophobia.
If you are scheduled to undergo a PET scan, your doctor will give you detailed instructions on how to prepare for the scan. These instructions usually include:
- You will be advised to refrain from strenuous exercises for a few days before the procedure
- You will be advised to stop eating for 4 to 6 hours before the procedure
What happens during a PET scan?
Before the scan, you will be asked to switch from your regular clothing to a hospital gown and to empty your bladder.
You will be injected with the tracer and will be asked to wait for nearly an hour for the tracer to get absorbed and distributed in the body.
After this, you will be asked to lie down on a bed in the scan room. The bed slides into the scanner, which is shaped like a tunnel, where your scanning is done.
To improve the diagnostic quality of the final image, a PET scan is usually combined with a CT or MRI. PET/CT usually takes around 30 minutes, and PET/MRI usually takes around 45 minutes to complete. You will have to stay still during the entire procedure.
If you have claustrophobia, inform your doctor in advance. You can keep your eyes closed or listen to music to overcome the claustrophobia. If your condition is severe, the doctor may prescribe mild sedatives to help you relax.
Following the procedure, you will be discharged from the scan room and advised to drink plenty of water to flush out the tracer from the body.
Your radiology specialist will issue a report after studying the computer-generated images carefully.
What differentiates a PET scan from a CT or MRI scan?
CT and MRI scans detect any change in the structure and appearance of various tissues in the body. The X-ray radiation in the case of CT and the magnetic field in the case of MRI originate outside the body. A PET scan ,on the other hand, shows the functional and biochemical status of the body structures. The source of energy originates through the breakdown (radioactive decay) of the tracer, which is within the body of the person who is being scanned.
The changes in the functional and biochemical properties begin much before there are any evident changes in the appearance of the tissues. Hence, PET scans can detect abnormalities at a much earlier stage than CT or MRI.
