What is the difference between a pet scan & a ct scan?

PET is functional: A pet scan tells us which cells are taking up glucose which is a measure of functioning. Cancer cells take up too much glucose and other illnesses like dementia have cells that do not take up enough glucose. A ct scan is a structural test and shows the outlines of cells and how big they are. Cts are useful for looking at bones and other sources of calcium.

Metabolism & Anatomy: A pet scan is use to evaluate metabolic processes in your body. Currently pet scans are most commonly use to evaluate the glucose metabolism to assess the activity of neoplasms by capturing gamma photons . For this purpose a radioactive form of sugar is injected in the patient. In ct scans external x-rays are use to produce an anatomic image of the body to evaluate size, shape, etc.

Anatomy vs Physiolog: Ct scans look at the structure of the body, the anatomy, and the way diseases change or distort it. Pet looks at the physiology, or how the body uses, or metabolizes something. For pet, the most common metabolism pathway looked at is how glucose is used. A low dose ct is often acquired at the same time as the pet (as in pet/ct scan), to correlate the pet findings with the ct anatomy.

Anatomic/physiologic: Pet scan involves intravenous injection of radio tracer usually f18 fdg.Imaging of whole body occurs for localization of areas of increased glucose metabolism. Malignant tumors usually most active.Ct scan involves x-ray and performs anatomic imaging of parts of body usually head, chest, abdomen, pelvis, or extremities. Pet?Ct combines imaging modalities for anatomic localization of areas of uptake

Usually done togethr: A pet scan measures the uptake of glucose. The uptake of glucose is increased in most cancers. A ct scan is a basically a series of xrays over the area of interest which provides superb anatomic detail. If a ct scan picks up a mass, it may not be able to tell if it is cancerous or benign. Combining the information with the pet scan allow for superior sensitivity and specificity in detecting tumors.

Metabolism / Anatomy: A pet scan is an image study that assess glucose metabolism for different tissues in your body using gamma photons while a ct scan is an anatomic picture of your body that reveals size, shape and intensities of organs using x-rays. Pet scans have several indications, including: cancer, cognitive disorders and heart perfusion stress and viability.

Anatomic/physiologic: Pet scan involves intravenous injection of radio tracer usually f18 fdg.Imaging of whole body occurs for localization of areas of increased glucose metabolism. Malignant tumors usually most active.Ct scan involves x-ray and performs anatomic imaging of parts of body usually head, chest, abdomen, pelvis, or extremities. Pet?Ct combines imaging modalities for anatomic localization of areas of uptake