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Department of Radiology
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Center for Advanced Imaging |
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PET/CT Imaging
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Patient Instructions:
To schedule a PET/CT scan please contact (304) 293-4321. Please contact the PET/CT facility at (304) 293-1884 if you need specific instructions for a scheduled scan.
RADLinq and PETLinq Arrive at WVU
“The West Virginia University Center for Advanced Imaging’s commitment to state-of-the-art patient care continues with our launch of PETLinq and RADLinq,” said Sahar Alshallah, Administrator of the Department of Radiology at WVU. The software packages PETLinq and RadLinq are secure, HIPPA compliant, web-based applications used to transport diagnostic images and reports from the WVU Center for Advanced Imaging to the referring physician. In addition to providing easy viewing for referring physicians to access their patient’s images and reports, PETLinq also includes:
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General Information: The PET/CT Scanner at WVU
 The combination of two imaging systems, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computerized Tomography (CT), both standard imaging tools, provides perhaps the most powerful tool available today for pinpointing the location and extent of cancer within the body before making treatment recommendations. The highly sensitive PET scan detects the metabolic signal of actively growing cancer cells in the body and the CT scan provides a detailed picture of the internal anatomy that reveals the location, size and shape of abnormal cancerous growths. Alone, each imaging test has particular benefits and limitations but when the PET and CT scans are "fused" together, the combined image provides complete information on cancer location and metabolism. The bottom line is that both scans - PET and CT – are done at the same time. In the picture below, Dr. Gary Marano and PET/CT technologist Courtney Koren review a PET/CT scan.
At the West Virginia University PET/CT center clinical hours have been expanded to better accommodate the needs of the patients, referring physicians, and the community. Same day studies are available upon request to ensure results prior to the patient’s follow-up appointments. Anesthesia-assisted scans are also available. The CAI is actively participating in the National Oncologic PET Registry in collaboration with Center for Medicare Services (CMS) to provide information to promote expanded coverage for the PET/CT modality. Medicare has provided limited coverage for FDG –PET for several years, but many other cancers and some indications remained uncovered. Essentially all of these other cancers and indications will now be covered for patients who have Medicare as their primary insurance through a new program by CMS known as “coverage with evidence development” referred to as the National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR). The evidence that is collected by the PET staff on behalf of CMS consists of pre-scan and post-scan questionnaires (5 quick questions) obtained from the referring physician to assess the impact of PET on the patient’s management of care. Ultimately, the goal of this data collection is to obtain standard Medicare coverage for as many remaining cancer imaging indications as possible. Detailed information about the NOPR can be found on the NOPR Web site at http://www.cancerPETregistry.org
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Quality Assurance:
The PET/CT facility has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in PET imaging in cardiology, oncology and neurology as the result of a recent survey by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The ACR awards accreditation for the achievement of high practice standards after evaluation of the facility by board-certified physicians and medical physicists.
“Recognition by our peers of the quality of the Radiology Department at West Virginia University is a compliment to the program, and testimony to the quality of our staff and our facilities,” said Gary Marano, M.D., Director of PET/CT and WVU Radiology’s Vice-chair of Clinical Operations. “We are the only PET facility in West Virginia to have earned this recognition. There are currently eight Nuclear Medicine Technology Board-Certified PET Technologists within the PET specialty in the state of West Virginia and the CAI employs four of those eight technologists.
- Patient Care Algorithms
- Physician Education
- Technologist Education
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For Referring Physicians:
The referring physician will receive a complete diagnosis in one easy imaging modality. The comprehensive report for all cancerous pathologies includes:
- IV and Oral contrasted diagnostic total body 16-slice spiral CT
- Total body PET
- Fused PET/CT information
An experienced radiologist that specializes within the field, interpreting over 2000 studies each year, gives the interpretations. Consultations are also available.
Services are also provided for neurology and cardiology patients. Neurological exams are performed for Alzheimer’s and dementia workups. PET/CT is also performed in combination with EEG for specific indicated pathologies. Cardiology services include Rest/Adenosine Stress N-13 Perfusion and FDG Viability imaging.
The patients undergoing PET/CT studies are treated with respect and kindness by certified, experienced, friendly technologists dedicated to excellent patient care for all patients from the more robust to those in more delicate conditions. The scanner features a large gantry opening and short tunnel within an aesthetically pleasing room.
Immediate Availability of Diagnostic Images & Reports
Physicians want and often need to receive information about their patients in the most efficient manner possible. Connie Felton, manager of PET/CT explains “PETLinq and RADLinq offer access to not only the diagnostic reports, but also the associated images, as soon as the report has been dictated and signed. The study is sent to the referring physician’s computer and an icon will flash on the desktop indicating the patient’s PET/CT scan is ready to be viewed. This improves turnaround time dramatically. PETLinq and RADLinq are wonderful viewing tools for tumor boards and conferences. All that is needed is an internet connection and/or a PETLinq viewer to be downloaded on the computer’s desktop.”
With this software, physicians are able to access their own patient’s information anytime and anywhere there are internet capabilities. Viewing images electronically is important for advanced imaging because the data sets tend to be complex. One of the best ways to view images such as PET/CT is as a movie (cine) of a rotating body (called a maximum intensity projection of the images or a MIP). This is not possible with hard copy. The PETLinq and RADLinq web site and viewer are designed to display images in a way that is user friendly to non-radiologists. The software can also provide notification that the patient’s images are available. The user downloads the notifier software enabling RADLinq or PETLinq to display a small message in the bottom right corner of the computer screen when the images are ready. This same mechanism can be used to give patients access to their images and reports. Many patients find it helpful to see their images. Some physicians have also found that it can help encourage patient compliance. While the patients are on the website, they also have access to all of the educational material.
Patient Care Algorithms
One challenge for referring physicians is to determine how to fit PET imaging into the patient care protocol. PETLinq and RADLinq offer algorithms for each type of cancer and indicate where the patient currently fits into the algorithm. All of the algorithms were developed based on peer-reviewed PET literature. In addition to providing medical information, the algorithms also indicate the Medicare coverage for the scans recommended in the algorithms.
Physician education is key to the proper utilization of PET/CT and MRI. Several important physician education tools are included in the PETLinq and RadLinq system. PET and MRI related articles, case studies, and PowerPoint presentations are incorporated for use.
The website is linked to the National Library of Medicines web site, Pubmed, for easy access to articles within the topic of choice. The case studies and results of our on-going PET and Radiology literature searches are organized using the same Patient Care Algorithms. For example, the section of the website that describes the best practices for using PET to re-stage lung cancer also contains links to corresponding cases and links to the WVU CAI database of PET literature. This system provides the referring physician with additional information that he/she can use in the evaluation of the individual patient’s results and discussions of treatment options with the patient and their families.
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