Things that one should know about PET CT scan

A positron emission topography is also known as the PET scan where radiation is used to show some activities within the human body. These activities are mainly shown at the cellular level. This PET CT scan is mainly done in order to go ahead with cancer treatments, cardiology, and neurology.

When one looks for PET CT scan Hyderabad then one can see that it is a perfect combination of a CT and an MRI scan and it can actually produce some multidimensional and colored images of the inside workings that keep occurring in the human body. This test actually shows how an organ looks like from inside and how they are functioning.

A PET CT scan is mainly prescribed to a patient in order to diagnose their health conditions and then according to that the doctor can diagnose a disease (if there is any) and then plan treatment. The doctors can also check whether the existing condition or the ongoing treatment process in the human body is working or not, if yes, then how effective it is.

Important pointers on PET scans

• PET CT scan is mainly used to diagnose a health condition and then keep a track on how it is developing.
• They can be prescribed alongside MRI scan and CT scan and it can show how a particular part of the body is working.
• PET CT scans are often used in order to find out diseases like epilepsy, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease.
• The scan is never painful. But before going for the scan one should not have any kind of food for at least 4 to 6 hours and they must also drink plenty of water.
• PET scans demonstrate the physical state and function of organs.
• During this scan, the machine can detect the radiation which is mainly emitted by the radiotracer.
• This radiotracer actually contains a radioactive material which is actually tagged to a natural chemical called glucose.
• This radiotracer is injected into the body and then it travels to cells that use glucose for energy.
• The more the energy a group of cells in a human body needs, the more that radiotracer will get a build up in that location. This will later show up in the images which are taken by the PET CT scan machine.
• These cells can actually show up either as hot spots or as cold spots.
• The active areas on the cells look very bright on the PET CT scan. They are known as hot spots. The cells and the areas which will need much lesser energy they will always appear less bright in the test and they are termed as cold spots.
• As compared to the normal cells, the cancerous cells will be very active when they come in contact with the glucose and so a radiotracer is made up of glucose to detect the cancer cells. Sometimes oxygen is also used instead of glucose.
• The radiologist will totally examine the image that has been produced by the computer during the scan and then goes ahead with their findings.

Uses of a PET CT scan

It has been mentioned above that PET CT scan is often prescribed with a combination of MRI or CT scan as it can help a lot in making the right diagnosis and to get some more information about the health condition of a particular human being. When an MRI or a CT scan can show how part of the body looks, a PET scan can actually reveal how it is functioning.

Here are some conditions that a PET CT scan can reveal:

Epilepsy

The scan can actually reveal which part of the brain is getting affected by epilepsy. It can also help the doctor to decide what kind of treatment will be suitable and whether surgery will be necessary or not.

Alzheimer’s disease

A proper PET CT scan can always help in diagnosing this disease by measuring the uptake of sugar and in the specific parts of the brain. The brain cells that are mainly affected by Alzheimer’s disease actually tend to use more glucose than the other normal cells.

Cancer

PET CT scans always reveal if there is the presence of cancerous cells in the human body and if yes, then to what extent they are present there. This can help the doctor to decide on the treatment procedure. A PET CT scan also gives a clear idea of how well the chemotherapy treatment is working in a patient’s body and whether it can detect a recurring tumor faster than other techniques.

Heart Disease

PET CT scan can also help in detecting which part of the heart has become damaged or scarred and what kind of circulation issues is happening there. What kind of problem is that circulation issue it creating in the heart functions? These kinds of valuable information can help the doctor to learn more about the disease and then plan the treatment accordingly.

Differences between PET, CT, and MRI scans

A CT or an MRI scan can actually assess the shape and size of the tissues and the body organs but they cannot asses how they can work. PET CT scan can actually show how a body organ can work but for that, they need a CT or an MRI image.

A PET CT scan is mainly an outdoor procedure. The patient who is prescribed for a scan should not eat any food items at least 4 to 6 hours before the test. But one should drink a lot of water before the test. They should also not consume anything that has caffeine for at least 24 hours before the test.

One can ask for the PET CT scan cost in Hyderabad at any hospital before going for the test. This can help them to get a fair idea of the cost and also how much time it will take to complete it.