title: The origins of positron emission tomography.
abstract: The development of positron emission tomography (PET) took place through the combination of the following recognitions: (1) a handful of short-lived, positron-emitting radionuclides, carbon-11, nitrogen-13, and oxygen-15, exhibit chemical properties that render them particularly suitable for the tracing of important physiological pathways, and (2) the radiation emitted as a result of the annihilation of positrons in matter exhibited physical properties that made it well-suited for nuclear medicine imaging, particularly for tomographic reconstruction. The scientific building blocks that were necessary for the structure of PET were contributed over a period of several decades by many investigators in physics, mathematics, chemistry, and fundamental biology.
authors.affiliation: Washington University, St Louis, MO.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ter-Pogossian
mesh_terms: D005544:Forecasting; D049673:History, 20th Century; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000266:history