Clinical Gains Precision with New Generation PET/CT

Montefiore Medical Center has announced that it has dramatically improved the diagnosis and treatment of cancers using a new-generation PET/CT scanning device, the Gemini TF from Philips Medical Systems.
The combination PET/CT scanner enables visualization of elevated metabolism, so that normal physiological tissues with higher metabolic activity can be distinguished from tumor cells.
"This hybrid PET/CT scanner merges these enhancements into one fused, three-dimensional image with remarkable clarity. That combined image shows us areas of metabolic changes in their precise anatomical context, sharpening our diagnostic and treatment capabilities," said David Milstein, MD, vice chair of nuclear medicine.
Clinicians at Montefiore who are using the new PET/CT scanner in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of a variety of cancers have determined that this scanner “is far more precise in localizing a cancer than PET scans and CT scans alone. The clarity of the fused, three-dimensional images helps me identify exactly where a tumor is in a muscle, gland, or other structure in the neck, and allows me to refine my surgical approach," said surgeon Richard Smith, MD, director of Montefiore's Head and Neck Service.