Westminster, Md. – The latest imaging technique for the diagnosis and staging of cancer is now available at the Dixon Imaging Center at Carroll County General Hospital . It is called Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and the outpatient diagnostic procedure is performed in a mobile unit located on the grounds of the Richard N. Dixon Ambulatory Surgery Center.

Unlike Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT), which provide images of anatomic structures, PET scanning measures the metabolic activity of tissues and organs in the body. In this way, PET shows how the body is actually working or being affected by disease, and detects at a very early stage whether a lesion is benign or malignant, before anatomical changes are seen.

The PET scanner service is provided through a joint venture between Carroll County General Hospital and Advanced Radiology, a subsidiary of Radiologix, based in Dallas, Texas.

The Dixon Imaging Center is using the newest PET technology, the Siemens ECAT ACCEL scanner, which offers the highest resolution, diagnostic accuracy and image quality available today.

“A PET scan takes the opposite approach of traditional imaging methods in that it looks at the functional activity of tissues, thereby allowing physicians to determine the most beneficial treatment for patients,” said Douglas Brunner, M.D., chief of Diagnostic Imaging at Carroll County General Hospital. “The precise images of PET often eliminate the need for multiple tests and/or surgery.”

PET visualizes the smallest potential cancers and shows disease recurrence, as well as the effectiveness of treatments, more accurately than conventional methods of imaging.

Before the PET exam, patients are injected with a radioactive glucose (sugar) compound, or tracer. Signals given off by the tracer, known as gamma rays, are recorded by the scanner as three-dimensional color images. While most cells need glucose for energy, cancer cells absorb glucose much faster in order to grow. Thus, any abnormal activity appears on the PET scan as dark or “hot” spots.

“Cancer cells divide rapidly, so they more actively take up the glucose,” Brunner said. “Knowing this, we can better distinguish between tissues that are actively metabolizing and those that are not.”

The PET scan is safe and there are usually no side effects from the injection of the radioactive tracer. The scan itself takes less than an hour, while the entire procedure lasts approximately three hours.

Although PET scans are primarily used to detect cancers, particularly lung, breast, skin, colorectal and ovarian, they also are beneficial for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders, such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

The PET scanner is available on Mondays at the Dixon Imaging Center and patient appointments are scheduled between 9 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information about PET scanning or to make an appointment, call 410-876-7463.

Founded in 1961, Carroll County General Hospital is a non-profit, acute care facility offering a continuum of services, including comprehensive inpatient, outpatient and community programs.

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