3D PET/CT wins accolades

The ability to simultaneously display 3D anatomic and molecular information to evaluate lung cancer earned recognition from the Society of Nuclear Medicine in its choice of image of the year.

Dr. Henry Wagner, who has performed this ritual for decades, singled out an example of 3D FDG-PET/CT bronchoscopy produced by Dr. Andrew Quon, an assistant professor of radiology at the Institute for Molecular Imaging at Stanford University.

The image displays a 3D primary lung lesion and an avid mediastinal lymph node partially obscured by the bronchus. Three-D-rendered multislice CT contributes a stunning view of surrounding anatomy and allows the physician to rule out endobronchial involvement.

The Stanford researcher stretched volume imaging and produced an exquisite structural and biochemical image, said Wagner, a professor of environmental health sciences at Johns Hopkins University and past president of the SNM.