Positron emission tomography imaging in neurology

Pozitronska emisijska tomografija (PET) je nuklearnomedicinska slikovna metoda koja, koristeći radionuklidima obilježene molekule (radiofarmake), omogućuje uvid u metaboličke procese u tijelu. U početku je primjena PET-a bila ograničena na specijalizirane istraživačke centre, a iako se prvi komercijalni PET uređaji pojavljuju početkom osamdesetih godina prošlog stoljeća, šira klinička primjena počinje tek devedesetih godina, kada je prepoznata mogućnost uporabe 18F-fluordeoksiglukoze (FDG) kao radiofarmaka kojim se može prikazati pojačan metabolizam u tumorskom tkivu. (1) Uvođenjem novih radiofarmaka proširen je spektar mogućnosti koje PET pruža, te se metoda danas osim u onkologiji koristi i u kardiologiji, neurologiji, i psihijatriji. (2) Cilj ovog rada je pružiti pregled razvoja PET-a, s fokusom na primjenu u neurologiji.Positron emission tomgraphy is a nuclear medicine technique which uses biologically active molecules labelled with a positron-emitting radionuclide to visualise metabolic processes. Its use was originally limited to specialised research centres, and even though the first comercial PET machines appear in the mid-eighties, widespread clinical use has only begun in the nineties, when the ability of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose to map the enhanced glucose metabolism in tumor tissues was recognized. The development of new tracers has widened the capabilities of PET, and today it is used not only in oncology, but in cardiology, neurology nad psychiatry. The aim of this paper is to present the development of positron emission tomography, with a focus on its application in neurology