New imaging technology improves accuracy, finds cancer earlier
“Time of flight” isn’t just about airline arrivals and departures. Baptist Hospital is the first in the nation to offer a new generation of PET/CT scanner that uses time of flight and other advancements to help find cancer earlier, and more precisely pinpoint its location.
“Our patients will be among the first in the world to take advantage of this advancement in PET/CT technology,” said Hao Vuong, M.D., medical director of PET/CT at Baptist Hospital. “This evolution of imaging equipment means that we can find cancer earlier, and provide doctors and patients more accurate information about its location so that they can make more informed treatment decisions.”
The new scanner also helps in assessing how a patient is responding to treatment, reduces the time of a scan (as little as 10 minutes compared to up to 35 minutes with earlier scanners), and makes it easier for overweight people to be scanned.
Built by GE Healthcare, the new scanner combines the benefits of 64-slice CT (computed tomography) imaging with the latest in PET (positron emission tomography). PET uses molecular imaging to identify metabolic or functional changes in the body’s cells that could indicate cancer. Time of flight refers to the PET scanner’s ability to measure exactly when gamma rays, emitted by a radioactive tracer drug given to a patient before a scan, fly off of an organ and reach the scanner. This measure of time helps the PET scanner create more accurate images that improve its ability to detect signs of cancer.
CT aids in determining the exact location of cancer. The 64-slice CT has four times as many detectors as a typical CT scanner. At a remarkably fast speed, it takes 64 individual image “slices” and turns them into a 3-D picture of the area of the body being scanned. This creates a more detailed, sharper image of the body’s anatomy. The new PET/CT has a third enhancement that uses motion-free technology so that movement from a person’s breathing and beating heart no longer interfere with creating detailed images.
In 2001, Baptist Hospital was the first hospital in the U.S and the third in the world to acquire the first generation of PET/CT. Baptist has been a show site ever since, hosting representatives from hospitals worldwide wanting to learn more about the equipment, and assisting the manufacturer in clinical research. PET/CT scanners are also available at other Baptist Health locations.
Baptist Hospital is an affiliate of Baptist Health South Florida. Each year, more than 6,000 cancer patients seek treatment at affiliates of the region’s largest faith-based, not-for-profit healthcare organization. In addition to Baptist Hospital, affiliates include Baptist Children’s, Doctors, Homestead, Mariners and South Miami Hospitals as well as Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute and Baptist Outpatient Services. The new West Kendall Baptist Hospital is now under construction. Baptist Health Foundation, the organization’s fundraising arm, supports services at all Baptist Health affiliates.