How available is positron emission tomography in the United States?

Abstract

Purpose: Positron emission tomography (PET) has become a major clinical diagnostic and prognostic tool for oncology and multiple other arenas. To some, however, the perception exists that PET is not available as a resource in their community. Our goal with this project was to determine how available clinical PET was in the United States.

Procedures: We used existing lists of PET centers, websites from PET scanner manufacturers, as well as a common Internet search engine to find clinical PET facilities. A mapping program was then used to determine area coverage with a 75-mile radius for each PET scanner found, and the United States Census website was utilized as a source of population data for covered and not covered areas.

Results: We found that 97% of the US population lives within 75 miles of a clinical PET facility.

Conclusion: Thus, it appears that the idea of clinical PET being unavailable to many is a misconception, which may be limiting its use by some physicians who are unaware of how common it has become.