Sample PET/CT imaging

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This is a composite image that shows a FDG-PET image of a patient with melanoma. The question was whether or not the patient had recurrence. The image on the right shows multiple hypermetabolic areas of increased FDG uptake (shown by black arrows) that represent unsuspected metastatic lesions and recurrence. The image on the lower left shows a single slice through the metastases in the right neck area.

This is the same view as above, but now the image on the lower left is the CT scan of the metastases in the right neck area. It is much more difficult to identify the abnormal tissue on the CT scan alone.

This is also the same picture as above, but now the picture on the lower left is the "fused" image where the PET and CT image data have been overlayed and fused together. It is very easy to identify both the anatomy from the CT as well as the abnormal tissue by PET. The fused data provides precise localization of the recurrent melanoma and allowed a simple directed biopsy of this tissue to prove recurrence. The patient was subsequently treated for proven recurrence.