A new PET/CT scanner can produce diagnostic images of the entire body in just one minute. Specialists rated the image quality higher than that of scans obtained using conventional machines. The findings were presented at the 39th Congress of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) in 2026, Medical Xpress reports.
PET/CT is widely used to detect cancer, determine its stage and monitor treatment. Conventional scanners examine the body in separate sections, typically requiring five or six patient positions to capture images from the head to the thighs. New systems with an extended axial field of view can cover a much larger portion of the body at once and detect more signal from the radiopharmaceutical. This makes it possible to shorten scanning times without significantly compromising image quality.
In the EQUIP study, specialists at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne evaluated a PET/CT system with an axial field of view of 128 cm. The study involved 24 participants, each of whom received one of five radiopharmaceuticals used for different types of examinations. First, the participants underwent a standard scan using a conventional scanner, followed by a 10-minute scan on the new system. The researchers then generated images corresponding to scanning times of one, two, three and five minutes.
Two nuclear medicine specialists who were unaware of the scanning durations assessed the diagnostic quality of the images, image clarity, visibility of disease lesions and noise levels using a five-point scale.
The average diagnostic quality score was five out of five for images obtained in 10 and five minutes, 4.9 for three- and two-minute scans, and 4.5 for one-minute scans. The conventional scanner received an average score of 3.9. Images obtained in two minutes or less? No — images acquired in two minutes or longer scored at least four points in every assessed category, while one-minute scans received scores of at least three points.
Shorter procedures could make examinations easier for patients who struggle to lie still for extended periods and reduce image blurring caused by movement. They could also allow clinics to examine more patients. In addition, the system's high sensitivity could potentially make it possible to reduce the dose of radiopharmaceutical administered.
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