Positron emission tomography
medicine imaging technique
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging technique that uses radioactive substances known as radiotracers to visualize and measure changes in metabolic processes, and in other physiological activities including blood flow, regional chemical composition, and absorption. In clinical practice it is used to diagnose and manage cancer treatment, in cardiology and cardiac surgery, and in neurology and psychiatry.
PET is a common imaging technique, a medical scintillography technique used in nuclear medicine. A radiopharmaceutical—a radioisotope attached to a drug—is injected into the body as a tracer. When the radiopharmaceutical undergoes beta plus decay, a positron is emitted, and when the positron interacts with an ordinary electron, the two particles annihilate and two gamma rays are emitted in opposite directions. These gamma rays are detected by two gamma cameras to form a three-dimensional image.
PET scanners can incorporate a computed tomography scanner (CT) and are known as PET–CT scanners. PET scan images can be reconstructed using a CT scan performed using one scanner during the same session.
One of the disadvantages of a PET scanner is its high initial cost and ongoing operating costs.
Uses
PET is both a medical and research tool used in pre-clinical and clinical settings.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Positron emission tomography” is medicine imaging technique. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Positron, emission and tomography, not as a finished interpretation.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q208376. The Library of Congress control number is sh85135956. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Positron emission tomography” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.