technique for creating detailed images of bodily tissues by injecting positron-laden material into the body and recording the gamma rays emitted over a period of about two hours (Medicine)
Tomography in which a computer-generated image of a biological activity within the body is produced through the detection of gamma rays that are emitted when introduced radionuclides decay and release positrons. Imaging technique used in diagnosis and biomedical research. A chemical compound labeled with a radioactive isotope (see radioactivity) that emits positrons is injected into the body, and detectors measure their activity in the tissues as they combine with electrons and are annihilated. Computers analyze, integrate, and reconstruct the data to produce images of the organs scanned. PET is particularly useful for studying brain and heart functions