Name: Why do hospitals have particle accelerators?
Uploaded: 2019-03-19T18:14:11Z
Duration: 4 min 27 s
Description: Is there a way to detect diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's before they advance too far? Doctors are using injected radioactive drugs that circulate through the body and act as a beacon for PET scanners. These diagnostic tools can detect the spread of diseases before they can be spotted with other types of imaging. So how exactly does this work, and is it safe? Pedro Brugarolas investigates.

Pedro Brugarolas: Why do hospitals have particle accelerators?

Why do hospitals have particle accelerators?

Is there a way to detect diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's before they advance too far? Doctors are using injected radioactive drugs that circulate through the body and act as a beacon for PET scanners. These diagnostic tools can detect the spread of diseases before they can be spotted with other types of imaging. So how exactly does this work, and is it safe? Pedro Brugarolas investigates. 

Hospitals use particle accelerators to create radioactive tracers that help detect diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's at their earliest stages. A single PET scan makes cancer cells light up like beacons, allowing doctors to spot tumors long before other imaging can. The process relies on rapidly produced isotopes, with half decaying in less than two hours, making timing crucial. Despite involving radiation, the exposure from a PET scan is about the same as spending two or three years around natural background sources.