State-of-the-Art Diagnostics

INTEGRIS Grove General Hospital has state-of-the-art advanced diagnostic capabilities. In addition to the digital radiography system enabling all images to be interpreted on high-resolution computer monitors, there are two 4-D Ultrasounds and a state-of-the-art, in-house MRI. INTEGRIS Grove’s Ambulatory Care Center houses a digital radiography system that links the ACC with the hospital and the Professional Center. Learn More

INTEGRIS Grove General Hospital patients will now have Monday-access to Positron Emission Tomography (PET), the most advanced molecular imaging available. “This is an exciting technology with many uses,” states Michael Foster, M.D., diagnostic radiologist at INTEGRIS Grove. “It is extremely sensitive in detecting and following most types of cancers.” The unit combines a PET and a CT (computed tomography) scanner in one, and will allow the doctor to observe how the organs and tissues actually function within the body.

With PET scan availability, Dr. Foster will be able to assess the metabolic activity of structures in the body and compare to their anatomic location with CT which will help identify abnormal from normal tissue. It can be further used to evaluate the effectiveness of a particular treatment regimen such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. PET has traditionally been used to identify malignancies; commonly detecting cancer, brain diseases and other central nervous system disorders, and more recently it has been used to differentiate among the various types of dementia.

Usually performed on an outpatient basis, a PET scan involves injecting a radiotracer into the patient’s bloodstream. The amount of exposure from the chemical is too low to affect the normal processes of the body. The PET scan can often detect very early metabolic changes in the cellular levels of organs or tissues where disease processes often begin their functional changes. Unlike some other imaging studies, such as MRI, which detect early anatomic changes, PET will detect changes in metabolic function that may occur before anatomic structural changes.

From the moment the radiotracer is injected into a vein, it will take about an hour to travel through the body and be absorbed into the area to be examined, and the scan itself may take another hour. Dr. Foster—board certified in diagnostic radiology and trained in PET interpretation—will interpret the images and provide a report to the requesting physician within 24 hours. "PET/CT is one of the most important developments in radiology in years, particularly in cancer imaging,” explains Dr. Foster.

Though PET has been around for 8-10 years, only recently has the software become available to fuse the PET to the CT image, which Dr. Foster describes as an incredible breakthrough. The availability of this latest test to area patients will enhance the already state-of-the-art diagnostic treatments provided by INTEGRIS Grove General Hospital.

Prepared by Jeanene Moore