Positron Emission Mammography Scanning Technology Provides Record Resolution

A new positron emission mammography (PEM) scanner uses positron emission tomography (PET) technology to produce high-resolution tomographic images of 1.5 mm resolution, allowing physicians to visualize breast tumors about the size of a grain of rice.

Manhattan Diagnostic Radiology (New York, NY,USA) will be the first imaging facility in New York City to offer positron emission mammography (PEM) in the fight against breast cancer. This installation will provide the facility with an increased ability to image and diagnose early-stage breast cancers, positively affecting cancer management. The leading-edge technology provides unprecedented metabolic resolution down to 1.5 mm.

The PEM Flex scanner, developed by Naviscan, Inc. (San Diego, CA, USA), is the size of a mammography unit and consists of two high-resolution detector heads that are placed in close proximity to the breast. Compared to the higher-force compression necessary for mammography, the PEM Flex scanner uses gentle breast immobilization.

Naviscan develops and markets compact, high-resolution PET scanners intended to provide organ-specific molecular imaging, guide radiological and surgical procedures, and advance new clinical therapies. The PEM Flex Solo II is currently installed and available in breast centers and imaging centers throughout the United States. PEM Flex is also utilized in clinical research studies, funded in part by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD, USA). The is the first company to obtain U.S. Food and Drug (FDA) clearance of a high-resolution PET scanner designed to image small body parts.

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