Towards truly integrated hardware fusion with PET/CT.
Combined PET/CT imaging is a non-invasive means of acquiring and reviewing both, the anatomy and the molecular pathways of a patient during a quasi-simultaneous examination. Since the introduction of the prototype PET/ CT in 1998 this imaging technology has evolved rapidly. State-of-the-art PET/CT tomographs combine the latest technology in spiral, multi-slice CT and PET using novel scintillator materials and image reconstruction techniques. Together with novel patient positioning systems PET/CT tomographs allow to acquire complementary PET and CT data in a single exam with the best intrinsic co-registration. In addition to the hardware integration efforts have been made to integrate the acquisition and viewing software in PET/CT, thus making the diagnostic review and reporting more efficient. Based on the first clinical experiences and the technical evolution of combined imaging technology PET/CT has become a standard in diagnostic oncology. With high-performance imaging technology at hand today, standardized, high-quality PET/CT imaging protocols are needed to provide best oncology patient care. These protocols mandate the joint efforts of a multi-disciplinary team of physicians, physicists and radiochemists.
Beyer
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Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Essen, Germany. thomas.beyer@uni-essen.de
D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D012984:Software; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods