Abstract:
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is one of the newer medical imaging techniques available to medical clinicians for the diagnosis of diseases ranging from cancer, to heart disease, to Alzheimer's. It is also used extensively by basic scientists to study human brain chemistry in vivo and has been used recently to image gene expression. PET was "invented" in the mid 1970's by two physics graduate students. After a period of slow acceptance, it is evolving into one of the more important areas of applied physics in the medical field. It differs fundamentally from other imaging technologies in that it images the biochemistry of the human body rather than simply anatomy.
An overview of the PET imaging process will be followed by an explanation of the salient physics behind PET technology. Topics covered will include
Finally, a series of PET images will be shown demonstrating some of the more exciting clinical and research applications. These will include cancer detection and staging, epilepsy, functional brain mapping, and drug abuse research.