Positron emission tomography, or PET for short, is an imaging technique from nuclear medicine, with which metabolic activities in tissue can be depicted visually. It is primarily used for detecting cancer and its metastases.
In PET, a molecule is administered to the patient that allows the visualization of particularly active tumor areas. We usually use fluoroethyltyrosine (FET) for this purpose. FET is a weakly radioactively labeled amino acid and indicates the increased amino acid metabolism in tumor cells. Pathological changes can thus be effectively depicted visually.
By overlaying PET data with MRI data, a hotspot with particularly active tumor cells can often be identified. This hotspot represents a good target for a biopsy.
The University Clinic for Nuclear Medicine at Inselspital has two state-of-the-art PET-CT scanners. These latest-generation devices provide excellent image quality with shorter scan times and reduced radiation exposure for patients.
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