Clinical Pet Scanning: A “Short-lived” Orphan

Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a method of nuclear medicine imaging that uses short-lived radiopharmaceuticals to detect and quantify the metabolic abnormalities of disease processes. PET initially was developed in a research environment as a research tool; data from these research studies resulted in the gradual recognition that PET studies would be useful for various routine clinical applications. The diffusion of PET into clinical practice has been slow in comparison with other new imaging methods (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging). This slow diffusion is attributable to several factors, including the complexity and high cost of PET, the uncertain role of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in regulating the radiopharmaceuticals that are produced and used on-site for PET studies, and the apparent slow pace at which the Health Care Financing Administration and other third-party payers are developing policies for reimbursing for PET.