Meet Dave. He's about to have a brain scan
using the latest PET imaging technology
doctors will see
Dave's brain at work
it's all possible because of tiny tracers
specially-designed radioactive molecules
The PET scanner tracks the position of the tracers inside Dave
revealing his brain function in three dimensions
The tracers don’t come from a stockroom shelf
Each one has to be made fresh at a nearby laboratory
This is Dr Miller
He’s making the tracer for Dave’s PET scan
First he needs to produce the radioactivity using a device called a Cyclotron
It smashes high-speed particles into ordinary atoms
transforming them into new, radioactive atoms.
now the clock is ticking
The new atoms are giving off their radioactivity
becoming plain old regular atoms again
there goes one
It means Dr Miller and his team have to work quickly to build the tracer
a biological molecule
This is what makes PET so unique
the molecule could be anything
a sugar a protein a hormone
Each one is tailored to a specific function in the body
and will show doctors where in the body that function is happening
Dr Miller’s team run special chemical reactions to create a tracer
from a drug used in the brain
The new tracer must pass quality control
it is purified…
…and checked that it will function properly.
The tracer is ready to use. Good work Dr Miller!
The precious custom-made molecule
is rushed to the PET clinic
Just the right level of radioactivity is measured out
then it's injected into Dave's bloodstream. There'll be a sharp scratch
it's not long before Dave's brain has absorbed the tracer
and the clever chemistry gets to work.
Inside Dave an incredible reaction is taking place
The radioactive atom on the tracer loses its radioactivity
giving off a subatomic particle called a positron.
It’s just like the tiny negatively charged electrons found on all atoms
except that the positron is positively charged so when the positron hits an
electron at just the right speed they combine and destroy each other
the energy is released as two gamma rays that travel straight out of Dave's body
in opposite directions
The PET Scanner is like a big ring of Geiger counters.
When it detects two gamma rays on opposite sides of the ring…
…the doctors can calculate where in Dave’s body the tracer must be.
By detecting thousands of these events every second and with some clever computer processing
Dave’s brain activity is revealed in three dimensions.
Something no other imaging technique can do.
For Dave it was just a small injection
that wasn't so bad huh?
All made possible by the incredible technology of the tracer.
The potential for PET is enormous
Different tracers can detect cancer
test heart function
and even track Alzheimer’s.
The PET scan has revealed Dave’s brain is functioning as it should
Dave you're A OK
In the next hour or so his radioactivity levels will be back to normal
it's another successful job for the incredible tracers
But the work of Dr Miller goes on as he continues creating new tracers, to help those in need.