PET/CT: a new imaging technology in nuclear medicine

This review discusses the technical background of combined PET and CT and considers the clinical applications of PET/CT imaging. Questions addressed include: Is PET/CT superior to PET imaging alone? If so, in which patient populations and in what respect? Can PET/CT imaging affect patient management? Can PET/CT be practiced economically? While much work remains to be done, the available data clearly suggest that PET/CT decreases imaging time per patient and, even for the experienced reader, significantly reduces the number of equivocal PET interpretations. PET/CT also has the ability to improve accuracy of PET image interpretation and to affect clinical decision making, thereby improving patient management. The nuclear medicine community should approach this new technology with an open mind and focus on its clinical usefulness. The decision regarding whether PET/CT should be part of the equipment in a given nuclear medicine or radiology practice largely depends on the specific patient population. It is concluded that present skepticism concerning combined PET/CT will subside once critics of this new modality have had the opportunity to clearly see on images its many advantages compared with either PET alone or conventional image fusion approaches. (orig.)