PET Overview
What is PET
PET stands for: Positron Emission Tomography. It is a medical imaging modality that provides new and unique visual information used in the diagnosis and management of a number of diseases (cancers, heart disease, and brain disorders).
This diagnostic technology is very advanced and can identify incidents of cancer and heart disease much earlier than any other method. It can often avoid the need for intrusive surgery and can more accurately predict the outcome and potential outcome of treatment. PET does not replace the better known imaging modalities of X-ray, CT or MRI, but rather offers a picture of the biological condition of a patient’s ailment compared with the conventional anatomical image. In recent years combined PET/CT scanners have become available which allow researchers to fuse "biological" and "anatomical" images, thus allowing precise localisation of cells affected by disease.
Erigal manufactures radioactively labelled "tracers" or "radiopharmaceuticals" for use in PET imaging. At each of Erigal's production units a particle accelerator called a cyclotron is used to create radioisotopic forms of Fluorine, Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen. These radioisotopes are then used to label tracer molecules in a process known as radiosynthesis, which uses sophisticated automated chemistry systems to carry out the required chemical reactions.
Following radiosynthesis the tracer products are dispensed into glass vials, which are then subjected to heat sterilisation. Each vial is then packed into shielded transport containers. They are then despatched to PET imaging centres by specialist courier. Whilst the products are en-route to PET centres, our scientists carry out extensive quality control testing. The results of these tests are passed to our Qualified Person (QP) who conducts a detailed review of various quality parameters, before "releasing" the product for use. Once released, tracers are injected into patients as part of the PET scanning process.