PET SCAN

PET (Positron Emission Tomography) uses radioactively labeled molecules called tracers that
inhaled the patients blood stream to spot the particular activity (that is related the tracers
type) to visualize the activity of the brain. The scanner is a doughnut shaped which embeded
bunch of detectors on it surrounds the subject. Detectors contain crystals that scintillate (give
off light) in response to gamma rays, which are extremely high-energy rays of light. Each
time a crystal in a detector absorbs a gamma ray is called an event. When two detectors
exactly opposite from each other on the ring simultaneously detect a gamma ray, a computer
hooked up to the scanner records this as a coincidence event. A coincidence event represents
a line in space connecting those two detectors, and it is assumed that the source of the two
gamma rays lies somewhere along that line. The computer records all of the coincidence
events that occur during the imaging period and then reconstructs this data to produce crosssectional images.
The tracer is usally a substance such as a type of sugar like glucose that labeled with a
radioactive isotope, the most widely used is 15O2 which is an oxygen molecule that has been
removed an electron to give it an unstable form so that it can emit one positron (positively
charged electron) to make it stable form

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O2 again. There is a minimal risk of taking

radioactive isotopes in the body, however, because dose of the radiation is too low it rather
eliminated by urination or decay overtime to become less radioactive. In the process tracer
emits positron and positron collides with an electron near by whereupon they create a
gamma rays with same amount of energy but going toward opposite directions. These gamma
rays leave from the subjects body are detected by the scanners detectors which positioned in
opposite sides as well and this is recorded as a coincidence event. Thus, a computer can
specify where the certain gamma rays came from in the brain and use these data to generate
the three-dimensional images.
Because brain s active parts will be denser in terms of blood concentration the gamma rays
density will be paralell with those bood concentration so that scanner will detect more gamma
rays coming from the part of the brain that is working. On a PET scan, regions of the brain
show up as different colors depending on the degree of activity related to those regions.
Yellow and red regions are hot and indicate high brain activity, while blue and black regions
indicate little to no brain activity.

One of the greatest advantage of the PET scan is that it can be used to identify any activity
that you are looking for. Researchers can synthesize radiopharmaceutical compounds that
bind to dopamine or serotonin receptors (C-11 or F-18 N-methylspiperone), opiate receptors
(C-11 carfentanil), etc. in order to spot the activity that is related to usage of that particular
neurotransmitter. Hence, it is a great method to identify which neurotransmitters are involved
which particular activity.