PET Scan

By Taylor Fischer, Hayden Howrie, Desirae Reimer, and Kassidy Urichuk

What is a PET scan ?● PET scan stands for Positron

emission tomography.● A nuclear medicine imaging test

that uses radioactive sugars to create 3 dimensional color images of the body and its metabolism

● The PET scan can measure blood flow, oxygen use, and glucose metabolism

● PET scan is used for cancer, brain disorders, and heart diseases

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A what scan?

How Does a PET scan work?- The scan uses a special dye that has radioactive tracers- The tracers are injected into a vein in the arm- Your organs and tissues absorb the tracers- In the PET scan the tracers help to see how well your organs and tissues are working

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When is it used? Diagnosed

conditions?

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● Pet scans are used to diagnose health conditions. They are also used when a condition already exists, and doctors want to find out how it’s developing.

Common conditions: ● types of cancer (ex. lung) ● brain disorders (ex. Alzheimers) ● nervous system diseases ● heart diseases

PET scan modality.

●A PET scan uses nuclear medicine as its imaging modality.

●More specifically it uses a form of radiopharmaceuticals, which is basically

just radioactive glucose

● This glucose allows doctors to visualize how your body uses glucose, which can indicate different illnesses

NOT SO FUN FACT: Modality is defined as how something is done or how it happens 5

What is expected of the patient.● Don’t wear any jewellery or metal fasteners (zippers)

● Limit your intake of sugars a few days before the scan

● On the day of the scan don’t eat or drink anything but plain water for 4-6 hours before hand

● You will receive an injection of glucose and need to lie still for up to 60 minutes before the scan

● You will also need to lie still for up to 35 minutes for the actual PET scan

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PET ScanBenefits

Cancer Benefits

Reveals the stage of cancer

States whether or not the treatment is working

Shows if the cancer has returned

Shows effectiveness of the chemotherapy

Shows if the cancer has Spread

What treatment to use

Gives information to make a diagnosis or to determine the treatment that should be used

Detects early stages of disease before it’s shown on other imaging tests

Shows how well the organs and tissues are working

Very beneficial for finding cancerous tissue

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Benefits Continued…- Reduces number of invasive procedures- Help avoid unnecessary surgery- Can tell whether a tumor is benign or cancerous- Can show all the organ systems of the body in a single exam

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Risks There are no known long-term adverse effects from such a low-dose exposure to radiation. Some potential side effects that might occur include:

· Cause a major allergic reaction, in rare instances

· Could expose your unborn baby to radiation if you are pregnant

· Expose your child to radiation if you are breast-feeding

· Bleeding, Soreness & Swelling may develop at injection site.

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RISK’s Continued…- Any exposure to radiation carries a very small risk of potential tissue damage that could lead to cancer at a later date. - However, in a standard PET scan the amount of radiation you're exposed to is small – about the same as the amount you get from natural sources, such as the sun, over three years.

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Work Cited

http://www.petscaninfo.com/zportal/portals/pat/my_pet_scan/for_patientshttp://www.petscaninfo.com/zportal/portals/pat/my_pet_scan/preparinghttp://www.petscaninfo.com/zportal/portals/pat/faqhttp://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/diagnosis-and-treatment/tests-and-procedures/positron-emission-tomography-pet-scan/?region=sk#Potential http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/PET-scan/Pages/Introduction.aspx http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/pet-scan/basics/risks/prc-20014301 http://www.healthline.com/health/pet-scan#Overview1 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154877.php http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/diagnosis-and-treatment/tests-and-procedures/positron-emission-tomography-pet-scan/?region=on http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/diagnosis-and-treatment/tests-and-procedures/positron-emission-tomography-pet-scan/?region=sk http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154877.php#how_does_a_PET_scan_work http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=pet http://www.healthline.com/health/pet-scan#Overview1

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