Comparison of PET-CT with PET-MRI

Abstract

Hybrid imaging with positron emission tomography is an evolving technology. The idea to combine PET with CT was made in the early 1990s. A Swiss oncology surgeon suggested adding something useful such as a CT scanner that would provide anatomical information more familiar to surgeons at that time. Thus, the concept of PET-CT was born in 1991, in which the components of a CT scanner would be mounted in the gaps between the banks of BGO block detectors. However, it was soon evident from that such a concept would not be feasible owing to the density of x-ray components mounted on the rotating support. Thus, it took 7 years more before the first prototype combined PET-CT scanner was completed, installed, and became operational in 1998. The coregistered anatomy localized functional abnormalities and clarified equivocal situations, thus improving the accuracy and confidence of the scan interpretation. The use of a rapidly acquired, low-noise CT scan in place of a lengthy conventional PET transmission scan also reduced the overall scan duration. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET-CT) is now established as the imaging modality of choice in many clinical conditions, particularly in oncology.