PET Scans in Canada

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a type of advanced medical scanning which takes a 3-dimensional image of the body. Most commonly, a tracer molecule such as FDG (which contains glucose, or sugar) is used. The PET scan then detects areas of substantial "pickup," or accumulation, of FDG in the body. Because tumours tend to actively take up glucose, they can be more easily spotted on the scan. Today some centres operate combined PET/CT machines, which produce a composite image using both PET technology and CT (X-ray) technology.

Availability of PET scans, unfortunately, is one of many elements of healthcare that varies between provinces in terms of public funding and availability. For instance, Quebec performs about 21,000 PET scans per year, while Ontario performs only 2000 PET scans per year. Ontario's public funding for PET scans is very limited, although coverage has recently been expanded to several new conditions, including (in certain cases) lymphoma.

The following list is under perpetual construction will be regularly updated. If you are aware of changes, please contact Northoma or leave a comment.