PET scanner

American  

[pet skan-er] / ˈpɛt ˌskæn ər /

noun

Computers, Medicine/Medical.

1. a tomographic imaging device that yields visual information (aPET scan ) about the ongoing activity of the brain: positron-emitting isotopes, incorporated into biologically important compounds, are injected intravenously or administered by inhalation, and the resultant gamma radiation is sensed by detectors and converted into computer-generated images of blood flow, oxygen utilization, glucose uptake, etc.

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Etymology

Origin of PET scanner

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

In the first, individuals were asked to carry out cognitive tasks at rest and while cycling in the PET scanner, so the team could monitor the movement of dopamine in their brain.

From Science Daily • Jan. 16, 2024

They injected mice that had metastatic breast cancer with their doped liposomes and were able, using a PET scanner, to follow what happened to the drugs therein over the course of a week.

From Economist • Nov. 2, 2016

Phelps recalled Mellinkoff’s curiosity about the PET scanner and their conversation about how it could help diagnose their patients.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 27, 2016

Researchers at West Virginia University in Morgantown, for example, have received a $538,996 grant to develop a portable PET scanner that humans can wear as they go about their day.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 1, 2014

After being injected with the radioactive tracer, the subjects lay down inside a PET scanner.

From Scientific American • Sep. 20, 2012