title: Instrumentation in positron emission tomography.
abstract: The past 40 years have seen PET scanning evolve from a tool that was used predominantly for research to a valued clinical, imaging modality. Current PET scanners must perform high quality, whole-body, as well as brain, PET. There are several levels of PET devices that range from the dedicated, high-end scanners down to the hybrid PET-SPECT systems that offer varying levels of performance. The incorporation of PET into single, hybrid, multi-modality units that can provide functional and anatomic information is becoming extremely popular. Several manufacturers now provide hybrid PET-CT scanners. There is also a growing interest in dedicated devices for specific applications, such as high-resolution scanners for imaging small animals.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital Boston, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. frederic.fahey@tch.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Frederic H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Fahey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004583:Electrons; D006801:Humans; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000295:instrumentation*