Types of Imaging

Positron Emission Tomography combined with Computed Tomography (PET/CT)

What is PET/CT?

PET/CT is a modality within Nuclear Medicine which combines a PET scanner and a CT scanner within a single gantry.

Nuclear Medicine is considered ‘Functional Imaging’; it obtains images of how the body functions.  Most often, Functional Imaging requires the injection of a radiopharmaceutical (radioactive drug) designed to look for specific functions in the body, such as metastatic cancer.  Functional Imaging can often detect abnormalities in the body much sooner than other imaging techniques.  It can detect an abnormality prior to it becoming an invasive tumor.

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Overview

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a technique that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of the organs and tissues within your body.

Most MRI machines are large, tube-shaped magnets. When you lie inside an MRI machine, the magnetic field temporarily realigns hydrogen atoms in your body. Radio waves cause these aligned atoms to produce very faint signals, which are used to create cross-sectional MRI images — like slices in a loaf of bread.

The MRI machine can also be used to produce 3-D images that may be viewed from many different angles.

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Computed Tomography (CT)

Overview

A computerized tomography (CT) scan combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles around your body and uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images (slices) of the bones, blood vessels and soft tissues inside your body. CT scan images provide more-detailed information than plain X-rays do.

A CT scan has many uses, but it's particularly well-suited to quickly examine people who may have internal injuries from car accidents or other types of trauma. A CT scan can be used to visualize nearly all parts of the body and is used to diagnose disease or injury as well as to plan medical, surgical or radiation treatment.

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