PET scanner

[ pet skan-er ]

noun

, Computers, Medicine/Medical.

1. a tomographic imaging device that yields visual information (a PET 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of PET scanner¹

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

Biomedical engineers connected eight PET scanner detectors into a 2-metre-long tube so that it could image a whole person, cutting down the time and radiation exposure required.

From Nature

Biomedical engineer Ramsey Badawi and his colleagues at the University of California, Davis, solved this problem by connecting eight PET scanner rings into a 2-metre-long tube that can image the entire body at once.

From Nature

Inside a large, doughnut-shaped PET scanner, the dye lit up in four distinct regions of his brain.

From Nature

FBB emits a tiny amount of radiation, which is detected by the PET scanner.

From Salon