The first primarily used commercial PET scanner was introduced in 1975. In the 70's and 80's PET was mainly used for research. During the early 90's PET expanded into hospitals, diagnostic clinics, mobile systems and physician practices as more and more of the medical community began to realize the utility of PET.

PET began in the 70's as a research tool. The technology advanced from digital coincidence to 3-D images in the 80's. Then in the late 90's a new detector material was invented called LSO (Lutetium Oxyorthosilicate). In 2000, a combination PET/CT scanner went into production providing the physician and the patient with the most complete and accurate image, as well as the hightest quality diagnostics within a single scan.

When disease strikes, the biochemistry of your tissues and cells changes. In cancer, for example, cells begin to grow at a much faster rate, feeding on sugars like glucose. PET works by using a small amount of a tracer drug chemically attached to glucose or other compounds. You are injected with the tracer. It travels through your body emitting signals and eventually collects in the organs targeted for examination. If an area in an organ is cancerous, the signals will be stronger than in the surrounding tissue. A scanner records these signals and transforms them into pictures of chemistry and function.

PET is able to detect extremely small cancerous tumors and very subtle changes of function in the brain and heart. This allows physicians to treat these diseases earlier and more accurately. A PET scan puts time on your side! The earlier the diagnosis, the better chance for treatment.

PET gives patients hope.

PET is used to diagnose and stage patients with cancer, as well as patients with certain brain and heart disorders.

In cancer, PET can:

• distinguish benign from malignant tumors
  
  
• stage cancer by showing metastases anywhere in your body
  
  
• prove whether or not treatment therapies are working
  
  

In the brain, PET can:

• positively diagnose Alzheimer's disease for early intervention
  
  
• locate tumors in the brain and distinguish tumor from scar tissue
  
  
• locate the focus of seizures for some patients with epilepsy
  
  
• more accurately assess tumor and other sites in the brain for delicate surgery
  
  

In the heart, PET can:

• quantify the extent of heart disease
  
  
• determine, after a heart attack, if the heart muscle would benefit from surgery
  
  

Here is some information for your patients from the Academy of Molecular Imaging (www.ami-imaging.org). Check out their WebSite.

Your Physician has ordered a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan for you. PET images can provide important information about many conditions affecting the heart, brain, and other organs, which will help your doctor plan appropriate treatment for you.

PET images are different than those from more conventional imaging equipment, such as x-ray, CT, Ultrasound, or MRI. These images show what the tissues look like. PET images contain information about tissue function.

This will depend on the type of study, but typically, you will be asked not to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before your scan.

You can expect to be in the PET center for one and a half to three hours. The actual scan itself takes far less time.

To begin the procedure, a small amount of radioactive glucose (or similar tracer) is injected into your bloodstream.

There is no danger to you from this injection. Glucose (also known as sugar) is a common substance every cell in your body needs in order to function. Radioactive glucose must pass multiple quality control measures before it is used for any patient injection. The radiation exposure associated with PET is similar to that associated with a conventional CT scan.

After the injection, you will wait approximately an hour, while the injection material is distributed throughout your body.

Then, you will be asked to lie on a table that passes slowly through the scanner. The scanner resembles a CT scanner, but has a much larger opening. Some people fall asleep during the scan.

You should feel fine. There are no side-effects from the injected tracer. If you have a heart scan, you may feel flushed afterward.

• Safe.
• Can be performed in about 2 hours as an outpatient procedure.

• Whole body PET scans can be ordered by any physician involved in your care.
• The studies are read shortly after the PET scan is completed and patients can expect verbal reports to be available to their physicians on the day of the study.

Most insurance companies pay for clinically indicated PET procedures. To be clinically indicated, the PET scan must be potentially beneficial in providing information supportive of a diagnosis or monitoring certain conditions.

Many insurance companies have coverage policies for certain clinical situations where PET scans have been proven to be useful. Since PET is a growing field, the data sometimes lags behind coverage policies. Therefore, the indication may be covered, even though it may not be on the standard coverage list. This does not mean that the insurance company will not pay for a clinically indicated PET scan. It is important to contact your insurance company to determine if the PET scan is covered.

Most insurance companies require pre-authorization for a PET scan. Physicians routinely provide clinical information to the insurance company to obtain the pre-authorization. Many coverage policies are local, so it is important to determine the coverage policies from the major payers in your area.

Medicare

PET scans have been approved for reimbursement under Medicare for the following:



Source: Section 50-36 of the CMS Coverage Manual and CMS Decision Memoranda #CAG-00094A and #CAG-00098N

Private Insurance - Reimbursement for PET scan indications

Most private insurance companies cover the same indications as Medicare covers. Private insurance companies may cover additional indications. In either case, it is prudent to check with your insurance company prior to having a PET scan. The cost for the PET scan has three components: (1) the FDG radiopharmaceutical, (2) the actual scan, and (3) the professional physician who reads/interprets the scan.

Self-Payment Plan

If your private insurance does not cover PET and you are not a candidate for Medicare, you may want to self-fund your PET scan. Please call us for information about payment arrangements.