Positron emission tomography, a type of medical imaging test that uses a radioactive dye that doctors can see moving through the body. The patient might swallow, inhale or receive an injection of the dye. What the medical provider looks for depends on the patient, their condition or suspected condition and the parts of the body being examined. PET scans are commonly used with cancer to look for drug response or disease progression or recurrence, but they are also used to assess heart or brain functioning, such as areas of areas of decreased blood flow in the heart or to look for evidence of Alzheimer’s in the brain.
