PET-CT is the world's most advanced nuclear medicine molecular imaging equipment, known as Positron Emission Tomography/X-ray Computed Tomography (PET-CT).
PET-CT is equal to PET+CT, which contains the optimal combination of PET (functional molecular imaging) and CT (anatomical imaging); i.e., it has the functions of PET and CT at the same time, but it is by no means a simple superimposition of the functions of the two, because PET and CT complement each other's strengths, "1+1>2".
PET-CT, in addition to the respective functions of PET and CT, its unique fusion image, the PET image and CT image fusion, can reflect the metabolism of the lesion at the same time, can be early diagnosis of disease at the same time, significantly improve the accuracy of diagnosis.
Expanded information:
PET-CT working principle:
Malignant tumor cells are "robbers" in the body. The majority of malignant tumor cells have high metabolic characteristics, especially malignant tumor cells divide and proliferate faster than normal cells, energy consumption increases accordingly. Glucose is one of the main sources of energy for tissue cells, and the abnormal proliferation of malignant tumor cells requires the excessive use of glucose, so malignant tumors ingest much more glucose than other normal tissues.
18F-FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose) is an analog of glucose and is the most commonly used clinical imaging agent; 18F-FDG reflects the status of glucose utilization in the body. Tumor cells can accumulate a large amount of 18F-FDG, but 18F-FDG is only a glucose analog, which can not be further metabolized after ingestion by tumor cells, and belongs to the category of "only in but not out", and can accumulate in tumor cells, which can be shown by PET-CT imaging to show the location, morphology, size, quantity, and radioactivity distribution of the tumor. The PET-CT image can show the location, shape, size, quantity and radioactive distribution of the tumor.
At the same time, the primary foci and metastatic foci of tumor cells have similar metabolic characteristics, and a single injection of 18F-FDG can conveniently carry out whole-body imaging. 18F-FDG PET-CT whole-body imaging has a unique value in understanding the whole-body extent of tumor involvement.
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