Sloan-Kettering Introduces PET/CT Scanner

The in Commack unveiled a new body imaging device, known as a PET/CT scanner on Monday.

The principal goal of the PET/CT machine is to fuse two separate images of tissue inside a patient's body, with the aim of giving doctors a clearer picture of healthy cells versus abnormal cells. Previously, a patient would need to move to an additional machine, resulting in a slightly different picture the second time around.

The images generated by the scanner will help radiologists to better monitor cancer patients post-treatment, and see if new cancer cells are developing.

The additon of the scanner is also a practical convenience to patients recovering from treatment. Since the Sloan-Kettering Center in Commack is an outpatient facility, patients no longer have to stay overnight in a hospital just to be scanned.

“With the new scanner, the patients here are getting a lot of directed care with doctors who are very familiar with their cases. They don’t have to go to the hospital to get their tests done,” said Dr. Arthur Fruauff, Co-director of the PET/CT scan at the Sloan-Kettering Commack Center.

The addition of the device puts Sloan-Kettering among the small number of cancer treatment centers on Long Island which carry the scanner.