PET picks up momentum

More than 40,000 PET procedures were performed between April 1 and June 30, 2001, according to a quarterly study by IMV Medical Information Division. The numbers represent a 7% increase over fourth quarter 2000, during which an estimated 37,400 procedures were performed. Driving this surge are oncology procedures, which make up the highest proportion of PET studies. These are followed by neurology and cardiology applications. IMV estimates that 510 facilities in the U.S. performed PET procedures during 2Q 2001. While the majority of sites used coincidence cameras to carry out the studies, more procedures were actually conducted using dedicated PET scanners.