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Sacred Heart Adds PET/CT Imaging System to Detect Early Stage Cancer
Sacred Heart Hospital has installed the most advanced diagnostic
imaging system for cancer care in the region.
The new Biograph PET/CT scanner made by Siemens Medical Systems produces detailed pictures of internal anatomy from a CT scan and merges that information with a simultaneous acquired PET scan that allows physicians to view biological or metabolic activity. This combination results in an overall improvement in accuracy and sensitivity for finding potential cancer.
Sacred Heart began scanning patients with the new diagnostic system on March 29.
“Unlike any other PET/CT scanner in this area, our new scanner utilizes the most advanced crystal and electronics technology available today,” said Dr. Frank Abbott a radiologist and nuclear medicine specialist at Sacred Heart Hospital. “ Not only is it the fastest scanner currently made, it is also the most sensitive -- allowing us to find even smaller cancers than ever before in nearly half the time.”
PET/CT is especially useful in diagnosing cancer and in measuring the effects of cancer treatment on a tumor.
PET which stands for Positron Emission Tomography is a test that utilizes a radiotracer that functions like glucose, a simple sugar. When injected in the body, this “tracer” goes to areas with increased function or metabolism. The signals produced by this agent are then detected and converted to images of your body portraying how well your body or organs are working, as well as detecting areas of abnormal cell activity caused by cancer.
While at the University of Florida, Dr. Abbott did pioneering work on early detection of cancer using positrons, bringing those capabilities to Sacred Heart Hospital in 1992. Sacred Heart was subsequently the first hospital in Northwest Florida to offer dedicated PET imaging in 2001.
In recent years, more powerful computers and improved software have allowed both CT and PET scans to become faster while producing more precise images. The Seimens Biograph PET/CT was selected by TIME Magazine as one of its Inventions of The Year and was responsible for the Society of Nuclear Medicine, Image of the Year award, for the past three years.
The information shown by the combined scans permits accurate tumor detection for cancers including lymphoma, melanoma, lung, colorectal, head and neck, and breast. Its benefits have just recently been approved for assessment of cervical, ovarian and brain cancers as well. Aside from cancer detection and management, PET imaging is extremely useful in the evaluation of Alzheimer’s dementia, seizures, and heart viability assessment.
“Because of the unique qualities of our new scanner it deserved a special location and will be located in an easily accessible office located inside the Payne building on the Sacred Heart campus,” said Dr Abbott. “We no longer wanted to subject our patients that have the worry of potential cancer to the inconvenience of a study being performed in a trailer.”
The new PET/CT facility also allows for the new scanner to be directly connected to the radiation therapy planning computers at the James Baroco Cancer Center at Sacred Heart. This will allow the diagnostic PET/CT information about a patient’s cancer to be directly incorporated into the patient’s radiation therapy plan.
“Our ability to use this technology and digital data from a patient’s PET/CT will enhance planning accuracy for patients whose cancer therapy includes radiation,” said Dr. Bujnoski, a radiation oncologist at Sacred Heart. “This advance is another example of Sacred Heart’s team approach to managing cancer patients in this community.”
For more information on the diagnostic imaging technology available at Sacred Heart Hospital, call (850) 478-6336. PET/CT Imaging Center is located in the Medical Mall at Sacred Heart Hospital.
PET/CT Imaging Center of Northwest Florida
5149 N. 9th Avenue, Suite 124
Pensacola, FL 32504
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