NEW MSU RADIOLOGY ADDITION OFFERS PET/CT SCANS, PRODUCES RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS

8/27/2003

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Diagnosing certain types of cancer is now easier and faster at Michigan State University with the recent addition of a new PET/CT scanner to the university's Radiology Center.

Located in a newly built, 17,000-square-foot facility that connects the Radiology Building with the MSU Clinical Center, the PET/CT scanner is the first commercial, large-bore fusion machine in the world. Fusion PET/CT scanners combine PET (positron emission tomography), a nuclear medicine procedure that produces images of the body's biological functions, and CT (computed tomography) which uses X-rays to produce highly detailed anatomic images.

In addition, the new facility also houses a medical cyclotron that produces the radiopharmaceuticals used in PET imaging.

PET scans give health care providers a real-time look at how the body is working and can provide a wealth of information, including determining if tumors are cancerous and the extent of the disease.

"This is, by far, the best and safest way to manage the staging and diagnosing of many cancers, including head and neck, lung, colorectal, lymphoma, melanoma and breast," said James Potchen, Department of Radiology chairperson. "PET imaging and cyclotron-produced radioisotopes provide a unique avenue to visualize biological function in human beings."

Potchen said a major advantage of PET imaging is that it provides more immediate feedback on how a specific treatment is working.

"Sometimes you have to wait several months to see if a treatment has been effective," he said. "By that time the cancer may have been growing and your treatment wasn't the right treatment. This gives you a chance to see it and you can see the effect of your treatment in very short order."

"By combining the detailed anatomical images of CT with the sensitivity of PET to tumor metabolism, PET/CT provides the most accurate imaging method of diagnosing and staging most common cancers," said Kevin Berger, director of PET imaging.

Berger also predicted tremendous growth in the use of PET/CT for advanced radiotherapy treatment planning and assessing tumor response to chemotherapy. In patients with heart disease, PET/CT is highly effective at providing images of coronary anatomy and heart blood flow.

Here's how a PET/CT scan works: A patient is injected with an extremely low dose of a radioactive material. The radiation is emitted from cells that are very metabolically active, such as malignant cells, and detected by the PET scanner, while the CT scanner provides high resolution images of the body. The PET and CT images are then fused together and interpreted by a radiologist.

Located in the same facility as the PET scanner, the medical cyclotron produces fluorodeoxyglucose F-18, or "FDG," the radiopharmaceutical used in PET imaging.

Tom Cooper, assistant chairperson of the Department of Radiology, helped organize an agreement with Cardinal Health, an international leader in health care technology, to manage and operate the cyclotron. In addition to meeting MSU teaching, research and diagnostic needs for PET isotopes, Cardinal Health also is selling the radiopharmaceuticals it produces to health care providers throughout the region.

The MSU Department of Radiology has a strong reputation in both medical education and medical imaging. The new PET scanner and PET cyclotron at the MSU Radiology Center adds to an arsenal that includes magnetic resonance imaging, CT scanning and digital mammography services.