A next-generation long-axial-field-of-view PET/CT scanner produced images from one minute of scan data that specialists rated higher on average than conventional scans in a 24-person study presented at a European nuclear-medicine congress.
Researchers at Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre tested a 128-centimeter GE HealthCare Omni system, which captures more of the body at once than conventional scanners. Participants first had standard PET/CT scans, then a 10-minute scan on the newer machine; researchers also reconstructed images using shorter portions of that scan. Two specialists who did not know the scan durations scored image quality, sharpness, lesion visibility and noise on a five-point scale.
The one-minute images averaged 4.5 for diagnostic quality, compared with 3.9 for conventional scans; images based on five or 10 minutes scored 5.0, while two- and three-minute images averaged 4.9. The ratings suggest the scanner’s greater sensitivity may allow shorter imaging, potentially making scans easier for patients who struggle to lie still and reducing motion blur. The study also points to a possible way to explore lower radiotracer doses, but it did not establish that dose reduction is safe or effective.
The findings are promising, but they reflect specialist assessments of images—not proof that one-minute scans detect every clinically important lesion. The researchers say larger studies are needed to check whether very short scans miss small or faint lesions and to assess how the approach works in routine care.