positronemissiontomography-schoolscience.pptVIP

Positron Emission Tomography Positron Emission Tomography Positron Emission Tomography Introduction What is PET? Revision of beta decay and isotopes. How a positron annihilates with an electron. How PET works. Medical uses for PET scanning. Introduction What organs appear dark in this scan? What Is PET? Having a PET Scan Minute amount of radioactive isotope injected into patient. Patient lies still 30 to 60 minutes in a chamber like the one illustrated. Scan is looked at by an imaging specialist Results passed to patient’s doctor. Revision: Beta Decay Revision: Beta Decay Beta-minus decay (β -) Revision: Isotopes Atoms of the same atomic number but with different mass numbers (i.e. with different numbers of neutrons) are called isotopes. Example: carbon atoms always have 6 protons in the nucleus, but there are different isotopes, each of which has a different mass number. Revision: Isotopes Isotopes can be plotted on a graph like this. Isotopes that lie on this line are stable. Isotopes that are above or below the line are unstable or radioactive. How PET works: Positron-electron Annihilation When a positron and electron collide, they annihilate each other and emit gamma rays at 180 degrees to each other. How PET Works: Cyclotron How PET Works: Labelling and Tracers Positron-emitting isotopes label molecules. An image can be acquired showing the location of these molecules. The most common molecule labelled is Fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG), which behaves almost exactly like glucose in the body. Applications of PET:Cancer Diagnosis PET scanning can be used to find out where cancerous tumours are, and how far they have spread in the body. This is very important in choosing the best treatment for the patient. Applications of PET:Cancer Diagnosis 18-FDG behaves almost exactly like glucose. Cancer cells use up a lot of glucose as they rapidly divide. Can be used to stage the disease, and decide the best treatment. Applications of PET:Alzheimer’s Disease Th