In a process that cost millions of dollars and over a decade to develop, the combination of positron emission tomography and X-ray computed tomography has produced the EXPLORER which offers insight into the inner workings of the human body. 3D video produced could help to diagnose disease, track spread of cancer or infections, and develop new medicines by creating a whole body diagnostic scan in as little as 20 seconds.
EXPLORER works using 40 times less radiation to produce higher quality scan than ever been possible up to 40 times faster than existing scanners of the whole body in astonishing detail. Second to none dynamic sequencing showing the radiotracer moving within the body is at a level no other device has been able to obtain in humans; however trade offs between image quality, time, and injected radiation dose will vary for different applications, but in all cases is expected to still outperform current methods.
EXPLORER could have countless uses such as it may be able to find every place cancer has spread in a single scan; track blood flow around the body; measure how well sugar is being absorbed; or watch how drugs move around the body.
Currently focus is on demonstrating how this new technology will benefit patients and contribute to the knowledge of the whole body in health and disease. The first scanner will be put to work in Sacramento, California and will start to be used on patients from June 2019. With advances such as this, it shouldn’t be long until the technology is seen all around the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thGvKuqDPDE&feature=youtu.be
