Positron emission tomography Medical imaging

Positron emission tomography (PET) makes use of a short-lived positron emitter such as fluorine-18 to image human tissue with a degree of detail not possible with x-rays. It has been used extensively to study brain function (see illustration) and in medical diagnosis. For example, when the hormone estrogen is labelled with fluorine-18 and injected into a cancer patient, the fluorine-bearing compound is preferentially absorbed by the tumor. The positrons given off by the fluorine atoms are quickly annihilated when they meet... 

Positron emission tomography (PET) A medical imaging technique that helps physicians locate tumors and other growths in the body. A radioactive tracer isotope which emits a positron is incorporated into a metaholically active molecule. A scanner locates the tissues where the radioactive substance winds up. 

Studying these isotopes provides fertile ground for physicists and chemists to gain a better understanding of the properties and behavior of nuclei. This field of research also has important applications. For example, radioisotopes—radioactive isotopes—that emit certain particles are critical in some medical treatments such as radiation therapy, which is used to kill cancer cells, and positron emission tomography (PET), which is extremely useful in imaging parts of the body. 

Hypofunction of prefrontal cortex as shown by positron emission tomography imaging or cerebral blood flow determinations. Hypofrontality occurs in both medicated and unmedicated schizophrenics. The pituitary gland. Hypophysectomy is removal of the pituitary gland. 

Nowadays, nuclear medicine has become an indispensible section of medical science, and the production of radionuclides and labelled compounds for application in nuclear medicine is an important branch of nuclear and radiochemistry. The development of radionuclide generators made short-lived radionuclides available at any time for medical application. New imaging devices, such as single photon emission tomography (SPET) and positron emission tomography (PET) made it possible to study local biochemical reactions and their kinetics in the living human body. 

Le Bars, D. (2006) Fluorine-18 and medical imaging Radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission tomography. Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, 127(11), 1488-1493. 

Recently, a great demand for fast chemical synthesis has emerged in the clinical field. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a medical imaging technique that produces a three-dimensional image or map of functional processes in the body. The common PET probes contain radionuclides such as F, and Rb, the lifetimes of which are very short,... 

Development of the first computer-based medical instrument, the computerized axial tomography scanner, revolutionized cHnical approaches to noninvasive diagnostic imaging procedures, which now include magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography as well. 

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