PET/CT Services Claremont Imaging - Radiologists Pomona, CA

Preparing for your PET/CT:

No food or drink (other than water) for 6 hours prior to appointment
Eat a high protein, low carbohydrate diet for 24 hours prior to your appointment.

No strenuous exercise for 24 hours prior to your appointment.

Take prescription medications as scheduled.

Allow 2 hours for your appointment. For the scan itself you must be able to lay still and mostly flat for about 30 minutes.

DIABETIC PATIENTS ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS: Diabetics who take ORAL medications should wait until the scan is completed to take them.

Subcutaneous insulin dependent diabetics should, after consultation with your physician, have your last injection 2 hours prior to the exam.

HOSPITAL IN-PATIENTS ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS: Follow either of the above protocols and any IV fluids containing glucose or parenteral alimentation should be discontinued 8 hours prior to the scan.

The Power of PET/CT

Claremont Imaging Center now offers Positron Emission Tomography combined with Computed Tomography (PET/CT) for the diagnosis, staging and treatment monitoring of cancer.

Research has shown that this valuable tool can positively impact the way you manage your patients’ treatment plans.

“Combining CT with PET gives us the best of both worlds. We not only have a very strong ability to identify the presence or extent of disease using PET, we have the CT to pinpoint exactly where we should perform
a follow-up biopsy, therapy or surgery.”

Gary Jensen, M.D.
Board-certified Radiologist, Claremont Imaging Associates

PET/CT COMBINES CT’s line anatomical detail with PET's ability to detect biochemical abnormalities in the cell. This combination allows for earlier and more accurate detection of disease than either CT or PET alone. Because metabolic changes generally precede anatomic changes, PET can often provide earlier detection or more accurate staging than conventional imaging techniques. A PET/CT scan helps physicians diagnose a problem, determine the best approach to treatment and monitor patient progress.

Call us today! Get accurate answers to your questions faster so your patients get better care. To schedule your patients for an appointment, or to learn more about PET/CT, give us a call. All contracts are listed under the name of Claremont Imaging Associates (20-0236047) *Hany, et al, PET Diagnostic Accuracy: Improvement with In-Line PET-CT System: Initial Results, Radiology 2002, 225(2):575-581.

What is a PET/CT scan?

• PET/CT is the most advanced medical
   imaging technique available today,
   combining Positron Emission Tomography
   with Computed Tomography.

• PET/CT combines the fine structural detail
   of CT with PET’s ability to detect changes in
   cell function. This combination allows for
   earlier and more accurate detection of
   disease than either CT or PET alone.

• A PET/CT scan helps your physician
   diagnose a problem, determine the

How does PET/CT work?

• Cancer cells grow at a very fast rate. Growing cells use
   glucose as a primary source of energy. The faster cells
   grow, the more glucose is consumed.

• A form of glucose called FDG, which emits particles called
   positrons, is injected before a PET/CT study is done.

• The FDG molecules are consumed more in fast-growing
   cancer cells than in normal cells, resulting in concentrations
   of FDG, and positrons, in areas of cancer.

• A PET/CT scanner detects where positrons are being
   emitted from within a patient and provides images that
   map the locations.

• PET FDG mapping is combined with a CT image’s structural
   detail in order to identify both the presence of disease and
   its precise location.