Contents:
- Medical Video: How Does a PET Scan Work?
- What is a PET scan?
- How does PET scan diagnose cancer?
- What is the PET scan procedure like in a hospital?
Medical Video: How Does a PET Scan Work?
Cancer is often found at an advanced stage. In fact, the earlier it detects cancer, the greater the chance for full recovery. For this reason, if the doctor suspects that you have a high risk of cancer, he will recommend you to undergo screening for the cancer. Cancer screening can help doctors monitor cancer malignancies and make detailed treatment plans in the future. One method of screening to detect cancer is through a PET scan procedure.
What is a PET scan?
Positron Emission Tomography or commonly abbreviated as PET scan is a device that emits radiation beamsto show the slightest activity in the human body, even at the cellular level.
The results of PET scanning are generally colored and multidimensional images of organs in the human body. But in addition, the results of this scan can also show the functioning of cells, tissues, and organs in the body.
Therefore, PET can be used to diagnose disease, determine the right type of treatment, find out the development of conditions in the body, to be used to see the effectiveness of one treatment. The diseases commonly traced with PET scans are cancer, epilepsy, Alzheimer's, dementia, cancer, and heart disease.PET scans can also be used as preparation for surgery, such as heart bypass surgery or brain surgery to cure epilepsy.
How does PET scan diagnose cancer?
PET scans detect beams of radiation released by substancesradiotracer. The substance commonly used is fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), which is similar to glucose. Substance radiotracer this will be injected into the body through the removal of venous blood. Then this substance will be absorbed by the tissues and organs of the body.
This fluorescent substance works like the body's natural glucose which is the body's main energy source to the cellular level. So both natural radiotracer and glucose substances will be automatically absorbed to the place where energy is needed. The more cells that need energy, the more glucose goes to that place. Substance radiotracer it will "swim" following the direction of the current where it is needed. In the body, substances radiotracer functions as a kind of tracker that can be detected by a scan engine.
Collection of substances radiotracer will appear on a computer-processed image. Active cells, meaning cells that need a lot of glucose, are called hot spot. The cells at this point will appear brightly colored on the PET scan. In addition, there are also cells that tend to be inactive, called cold spot. The cells at this point are darker in color. This method can track cancer cells. Because the cancer cells are very dependent on glucose use, so the cancer cells will look brightly lit on the PET Scan.
Besides being injected, these substances can also be inserted into the body through breath, mouth, or directly injected right in the intended organ. Take it easy, this substance is not harmful to the body because it is in a dose that has been accurately measured.
What is the PET scan procedure like in a hospital?
Before undergoing a PET scan, generally your doctor or the lab technician in question will warn you to fast eat for 4 to 6 hours before scanning but must drink plenty of water.
During the procedure, you will be asked to wear a hospital gown and be asked to remove all your accessories or jewelry. Then the nurse in the hospital will measure your height, weight, and blood pressure. Maybe the nurse will take your blood for fat analysis. You will then be asked to lie on the scanner table.
Then the lab technician will inject a radiotracer substance through the vein, inhale through the mouth and respiratory tract, or directly injected into the intended organ.The process of absorption of substances can take about 30-90 minutes to get to the intended part. Usually in the process, you are asked not to talk and just relax.
Once ready, the scanner table where you are lying will move into a machine tunnel. You are still asked to be as quiet and relaxed as possible. You can listen to music while waiting to get rid of boredom.As long as you are inside the machine, the scanner will scan your body and take proof of the image. This process itself usually takes around 30 minutes.
You will not feel sick while undergoing a PET scan. But if you feel uncomfortable in a closed room for a long time, you can press the button emergency to call staff.
The total total time from the start to the PET scan is complete for about 2 hours. After you too you will be asked to drink plenty of water to rinse the radiotracer residue from your body. If this works, all substances will disappear within 3 to 4 hours. After printing, you will be able to find out the results immediately with the doctor's guidance for more details.
