Definition
Positron emission tomography (PET) involves the intravenous injection of positron-emitting radionucleotides which are tagged to various brain metabolites. A cyclotron is required to generate these positron-emitting isotopes that can be made from a variety of biologically interesting compounds.
Positron-emitting radioisotopes decay by emission of positrons or positively charged electrons. These quickly combine with an adjacent electron in an annihilation reaction with the emission of two high energy gamma rays in opposing directions. Their presence in the brain is detected by a sophisticated scanning device. Recording of these simultaneously emitted photons allows calculation of their site of origin and, therefore, a map of radiopharmaceutical distribution in the patient. Computerized tomography (CT) analysis produces an accurate measurement of the radioactivity emitted from each pixel. This is displayed as a two-dimensional color-coded image.
PET can be used to study...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References and Readings
Alauddin, M. M. (2012). Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with 18F-based radiotracers. American Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, 2(1), 55–76.
Hammoud, D., Hoffman, J., & Pomper, M. (2007). Molecular neuroimaging: From conventional to emerging techniques. Radiology, 245(1), 21–42.
Papathanassiou, D., & Liehn, J. (2008). The growing development of multimodality imaging in oncology. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology, 68(1), 60–65.
Salmon, E., Bernard, C., & Hustinx, R. (2015). Pitfalls and limitations of PET/CT in brain imaging. Seminars in Nuclear Medicine, 45(6), 541–551.
Saunders, D., Jager, H., Murray, A., & Stevens, J. (2008). Functional imaging techniques. In R. Grainger & D. Allison (Eds.), Grainger and Allison’s diagnostic radiology: A textbook of medical imaging (5th ed., pp. 1255–1256). London: Churchill Livingstone.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Ladley, S. (2018). PET. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_58
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_58
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57110-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57111-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences