Imaging

Tracing and mapping

How PET/CT scans aid in early detection of diseases.

4min
Hildegard Kaulen
Published on March 28, 2022

PET/CT is a hybrid imaging procedure that visualizes metabolic processes. Since tumor cells have a different metabolism from normal cells, PET/CT is primarily used to aid in cancer diagnosis. PET/CT scans can also be used to evaluate Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease. 


By Hildegard Kaulen

Hildegard Kaulen, PhD, is a molecular biologist. Following positions at Rockefeller University in New York and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, she now works as a freelance science journalist for newspapers and scientific magazines.