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Next Generation PET/CT Scanner Installed at Eden Medical Center

Issue: September 2009

Eden Medical Center now offers the Discovery ST, a redesigned PET/CT system completely optimized for cancer care. This system integrates a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner with a multi-slice Computed Tomography (CT) scanner and is capable of 2D and 3D imaging with a larger bore for all patient studies or sizes. This Discovery ST system provides physicians with more sensitivity, speed, resolution, and diagnostic confidence when treating cancer patients.

“With the Discovery ST, we will all encounter better image quality and greater confidence in image interpretation so our doctors can better diagnose and treat their patients,” said Bryan Daylor, vice president of Ancillary Services. “With its larger bore size (70cm) and shorter tunnel length (100cm), physicians have more flexibility in positioning larger patients and for better radiation therapy planning, and helps claustrophobic patients.”

Before having a PET/CT scan, the patient receives a dose of a radiopharmaceutical tracer containing substances that mimic those normally used in the body including water, sugars, proteins and oxygen. These tracers accumulate in diseased cells. During the scan, the tracers are detected by the system creating an image of the patient and highlighting any abnormal physiology. This image helps physicians determine if disease is present, the location and extent of disease, and track how rapidly it is spreading.

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