Find out how PET/CT can help detect the early signs of Alzheimer's Disease.

PET/CT Combines the functional information from Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with anatomical information from a Computed Tomography (CT) exam in one single exam.

A PET Scan detects changes in cellular function and how your cells are utilizing nutrients like sugar and oxygen. Since these functional changes take places before physical changes occur, PET can provide information that enables your physician to make an early diagnosis.

The advantage of CT is its ability to take cross sectional images of your body. These are combined with the information from the PET scan to provide more anatomic details of the metabolic changes in your body.

The PET exam pinpoints metabolic activity in cells and the CT exam provides an anatomical reference. When these two scans are fused together, your physician can view metabolic changes in the proper anatomical context of your body.

Pre-Exam Procedures

• Do not eat (including gum) or drink anything except for water for 4-6 hours before your exam because it could interfere with your results. You should arrive fully hydrated.
• If you take medications, drink only enough plain water to swallow them.
• If you've been advised not to take your medications on an empty stomach, eat nothing more than a few soda crackers within 4-6 hours of your exam.
• If you are diabetic, let us know ahead of time so we can work with your physician to determine the safest possible way for you to prepare for your exam.
• If you feel feverish, please call this to our attention.
• Do not wear anything metallic (i.e. underwire bras, belts, zippers, metal buttons, etc).
• Refrain from strenuous exercise 23 hours prior to exam.
• Please let us know if you are or might be pregnant or you are currently breast-feeding.

Why do I need this exam?

Your PET/CT exam results may have a major impact on your diagnosis and course of treatment selected by your physician.

A PET/CT study not only helps your physician diagnose a problem, it also helps your physician to predict the likely outcome of various therapeutic alternatives, pinpoint the best approach to treatment, and monitor your progress. If you are not responding as well as expected, you may be switched to alternative therapy.

Ask your physician what he or she hopes to learn from your PET/CT exam.

What should I expect when I arrive?

When you arrive, we will take a review of your history and any past exams.

For the PET portion of the exam, you will receive an injection of radioactive material similar to that which is used for bone scans and other nuclear medicine exams. This is a radioactive tracer that must pass multiple quality control measures before it is used for any patient injection. PET radiopharmaceuticals lose their radioactivity very quickly (two hours) and only very small amounts are injected. In all cases, the majority of radioactivity will be eliminated from the body approximately 6 hours after injection.

For most studies, you will have to wait for the radiopharmaceutical to distribute itself, which takes typically 30 minutes to one hour. During this time you will be asked to relax.

During the exam, you will lie very still on a comfortable table that will move slowly through the scanner as it acquires the information needed to generate diagnostic images.

How long will the exam take?

The PET/CT scan should last between 20 and 45 minutes. The exam procedure can vary depending on what we are looking for and what we discover along the way. Plan to spend two to three hours at our facility.

What happens after the exam?

You may return to a designated areas as soon as the exam is complete. Unless you've received special instructions, you will be able to eat and drink immediately. Drinking a lot of fluids soon after the exam will help remove any of the radiopharmaceutical that may still be in your system.

In the meantime, we will begin preparing the results for review by our Board-Certified Radiologist. Your physician will then get the results and tell you what we have learned.

Safety of PET/CT Exams

Be assured that PET/CT exams are a safe and effective diagnostic procedure. The radiopharmaceuticals used in PET do not remain in your system long, so there is no reason to avoid interacting with other people once you have left our facility. As an extra safety precaution, you may want to wait a few hours before getting too close to an infant or a woman that is pregnant.