Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
In the spring of 2000, New England PET Imaging System opened a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) facility on the grounds of the Caritas Holy Family Hospital and Medical Center in Methuen, Mass. This was the first PET facility in New England outside of a major academic medical center, bringing this sophisticated technology into clinical use within a community hospital setting. In September of 2002 New England PET Imaging System opened a second facility within the Cancer Center of the Lowell General Hospital in Lowell, Mass., and began operation of mobile PET services for New Hampshire and Massachusetts shortly thereafter.
PET is a highly accurate, non-invasive imaging technique for studying metabolism and biochemistry in various organs and organ systems within the body. PET provides whole body images critical to the detection, evaluation, and management of cancer, as well as focused images of the brain and cardiac tissue.
While most imaging techniques, such as X-Ray. CT, or MRI provide information primarily on anatomy and body structure, PET offers insights into function, physiology, and the progress of disease within organs. PET is particularly effective in oncology, for the examination of various forms of cancer, including lung cancer, melanoma, lymphoma, colorectal cancer, esophageal and head and neck cancers, thyroid cancer, and breast cancer. PET is also used for evaluation of the brain prior to epilepsy surgery, and to determine if cardiac tissue is viable prior to bypass surgery.
New England PET Imaging System was the first PET facility in the nation to received accreditation by the Intersocietal Commission for Accreditation of Nuclear Laboratories (ICANL).
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