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Vol.50 No.1 contents | Japanese/English |
 | Full Text of PDF (1291K) Article in Japanese |
- The 34th Diagnostic Imaging Seminar -
Positron-Emission Tomography (PET)/Computed Tomography (CT) Imaging for Lung Cancer
Koji Murakami11PET Center, Dokkyo Medical University, Japan
Positron-Emission Tomography (PET)/Computed Tomography (CT) is a built-in device in which PET and CT are arranged linearly. Because both PET and CT are performed with the patient in the same position, anatomical misregistration of the image is minimal. This device has two merits. One is the shortening of the examination time with improvement in image quality, achievable by using CT as a transmission scan. The other merit is the ability to obtain precise CT and PET fusion images. Fusion images obtained by PET/CT are more accurate than single modality, because they both has the excellent spatial resolution of CT and the prominent contrast resolution of PET. PET/CT is useful not only for clinical diagnosis, but also for developing the new application for 3-dimensional imaging modalities, such as radiation therapy planning, virtual bronchoscopy, or virtual mediastinoscopy, that are not possible by using PET alone. Various research and developmental progress is ongoing in the field of the hardware and software of the PET/CT, in addition to radiopharmaceutical aspect, and PET may be one of the most promising tools for diagnostic imaging in the future.
key words: Lung cancer, PET/CT, Radiation therapy planning, 3D-imaging, Virtual endoscopy
JJLC 50 (1): 71-77, 2010
