Positron Emission Tomography

The use of positron emission tomography (PET) in clinical practice is key to the s- cessful management of many patients with a wide variety of diseases. Whereas in the 1980s and 1990s nuclear medicine physicians struggled to convince other doctors about the potential clinical value of PET, it is now a challenge to keep up with the requests of our clinical colleagues for the various applications of PET. In fact, in most cases the barriers are now related to reimbursement for a given PET procedure. At the time this foreword was written, many FDG/PET procedures are reimbursable, and the U.S. National PET Registry, which is about to be implemented, will allow FDG/PET imaging data to accumulate on rare tumors, while allowing for Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reimbursement. The challenges are now shifting toward solving some of the limitations of FDG/PET through the use of next generation inst- mentation and newer tracers that hold the promise of improving on what is already a remarkable achievement with FDG/PET. It is my hope that there will in fact be an enormous growth of nuclear medicine driven by new imaging tracers that will fuel a growing number of clinical applications.

This text is based on the second half of P.E. Valk et al’s 2003 bestseller Positron Emission Tomography: Basic Science and Clinical Practice and deals with only the clinical research and applications. Positron Emission Tomography: Clinical Practice consists of twenty-two fully revised and thoroughly updated chapters enhanced further by six entirely new chapters. The abundance of new material makes this book an essential volume for anyone training in, or practicing, Nuclear Medicine.

The first chapters of this book summarize the scientific aspects of PET and PET/CT including physics, instrumentation, radiation dosimetry and radiation protection. A chapter on normal variants in FDG PET imaging serves as an introduction to the clinical chapters. The clinical chapters cover a wide range of oncology applications and they have been updated to include the impact of FDG PET/CT imaging in oncology. Two chapters address imaging with tracers other than FDG, such as an hypoxic tracer. The book concludes with chapters on the use of PET and PET/CT in cardiology and neurology. A chapter on PET imaging of infectious processes is also included.

The applications in this book will be useful for residents and those training in medical imaging specialties, as well as imaging professionals in private or academic practice who need to become familiar with this technology and its applications. This book will also be essential reading for those whose specialties carry over to PET and PET/CT, such as oncologists, cardiologists, neurologists and surgeons.