Monitoring Individual Occupational Radiation Exposure at Multiple Institutions.

Within a few years of its' discovery, ionizing radiation demonstrated adverse effects on biological systems. Since that time great strides were made in both radiation protection, detection, and personnel monitoring. Monitoring occupational radiation dose to individuals is enforced by several regulatory agencies in the United States (U.

Added Value of Digital over Analog PET/CT: More Significant as Image Field of View and Body Mass Index Increase.

The digital PET/CT scanner with digital photon-counting technique promises a shorter scan time, improved small-lesion detectability, and reduced radiation dose for the PET and CT portions of the exam while improving image quality. In this single-institution retrospective review study, 84 participants who had undergone PET/CT on both analog and digital scanners were analyzed. The aim was to evaluate the impact of image field of view (FOV) and body mass index (BMI) on the digital compared with the analog PET/CT scanners.

Do Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents Affect F-FDG PET/CT Uptake in the Dentate Nucleus and the Globus Pallidus? A Pilot Study.

Gadolinium is toxic and to avoid its deposition in tissues, it must be chemically bonded with nonmetal ions to facilitate its excretion by the kidneys. High signal intensity in the dentate nucleus (DN) and globus pallidus (GP) on unenhanced T1-weighted MR images has been both morphologically and pathologically linked to gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) retention in the brain. The purpose of this study was to determine whether repeated administrations of GBCA would affect the uptake of F-FDG in the DN and GP on PET/CT.

Prevalence, challenges, and solutions for (18)F-FDG PET studies of obese patients: a technologist's perspective.

Unlabelled: Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States; hence, it is frequently encountered in patients undergoing (18)F-FDG PET studies. The purpose of the current study was to present a technologist's perspective on the prevalence of obesity and the challenges and solutions in imaging obese patients in our PET facility.

Methods: From October 2002 to October 2003, whole-body (18)F-FDG PET was performed on 1,164 patients with a known or suspected malignancy.