Zeitschrift für klinische Bilder und Fallberichte

The Role of Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Raisa Pompe

PET/MRI (positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging) is the most sophisticated method in the field of imaging diagnosis, as well as one of the forerunners of a new modality in the area, molecular imaging. Combining PET's molecular data with MRI's morphological and functional data allows for a comprehensive and detailed assessment of the patient. The concept of hybrid technologies, or technologies that combine different diagnostic methods, was first established in Geneva in 1991, when Townsend et al. developed a PET unit with gaps between its detectors, allowing the integration of another imaging method: computed tomography (CT), as suggested by Swiss cancer surgeon Rudi Egeli. Despite this, it was only in 1998 that it was approved for clinical usage in Pittsburgh, where it provided diagnostic-quality sequential PET and CT scans. About 300 patients were scanned with PET/CT, and the positive results prompted the construction of a PET/CT equipment for commercial usage. The concept of hybrid technologies, or technologies that combine different diagnostic methods, was first established in Geneva in 1991, when Townsend et al. developed a PET unit with gaps between its detectors, allowing for the integration of another imaging method: computed tomography (CT), as suggested by Swiss cancer surgeon Rudi Egeli.