Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and PET/CT co-registration

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Nuclear Medicine

GE Medical Systems Lightspeed Plus 4-channel multidetector CT

The MRI casemix at Peter Mac is a mixture of outpatient referrals (e.g. brain and spine imaging) and dedicated oncology examinations which include:

• Cranial nerve and skull base imaging
• Local staging of head and neck malignancy
• Local staging of cervical, rectal and prostate malignancies
• Prostate spectroscopy
• Breast MRI
• Oncological brain, spine, abdominal and musculoskeletal studies
  

The ultrasound casemix at Peter Mac has an oncologic emphasis. The most common examinations include breast, abdominal and small parts imaging. Diagnostic procedures form a large component of the ultrasound casemix, including:

• Core biopsy (e.g. breast, abdominal, small parts)
• Fine needle aspiration – in particular, head and neck nodes, difficult lesions
• Breast hookwire localisation
• Pleural and ascites aspiration
• Abscess drainage
  

The Diagnostic Imaging Department is in the process of installing a new angiographic machine which is anticipated to be functional in November 2005. The unit will have on-table CT capability. The range of interventional procedures performed currently includes:

• Central venous access – Arrowcath, Vascath and PICC line insertion
• Barium and contrast studies
• Percutaneous nephrostomy and biliary drainage
• Percutaneous gastrostomy (PEG) tube insertion
• IVC filter insertion
• Catheter placement for isolated limb infusion procedures
• General fluoroscopic procedures, e.g. difficult lumbar punctures and nasogastric tubes performed under fluoroscopic guidance
  

Nuclear Medicine facilities are located on Level 1 of the Smorgon Family Building , in combination with the Radiology Department. The PET Centre is located on the Upper Ground level.

Specialised facilities for diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine include:

• Multitracer imaging
• Imaging and therapy of neuroendocrine tumours
• Physiologic dosimetry for chemotherapy
• Radionuclide therapy for bone metastases and thyroid malignancy

The PET/CT scanner at Peter Mac (Discovery LS; General Electric Medical Systems) is comprised of a four-slice multidetector helical CT scanner (Lightspeed Plus) and a dedicated PET scanner using BGO crystals (Advance Nxi). The Peter Mac scanner, installed in January 2002, is the first Australian PET/CT scanner. Multimodality correlation is one of the strengths of PET at Peter Mac, in particular, the ability to precisely co-register PET images with CT, allowing more accurate delination of malignant lesions and more comprehensive whole-body staging.