Artificial Intelligence-Powered Software Improves PET Scan

^{Image courtesy of Subtle Medical.}

For many cancer patients, getting positron emission tomography (PET) scans is part of their medical treatment. However, the experience can sometimes be uncomfortable and painful, especially for those who have a difficult time holding still or keeping their arms raised for long periods of time.

A PET scan, which is an imaging test that shows if the cancer has spread, usually takes 24 minutes to complete, but Middlesex Health is changing that. Using artificial intelligence-powered software called SubtlePET, it is making the PET scan experience much more comfortable for patients by reducing the scan time to six minutes.

SubtlePET software allows Middlesex to perform PET scans four times faster on existing PET machines. The result, however, is still the same high image quality—just produced in less time.

Subtle Medical is the only company FDA-cleared for this technology, and Middlesex Health is the first in the northeast to implement SubtlePET in a clinical setting. Feedback from patients has been very positive.

“Middlesex always looks for ways to improve the patient experience and a dramatically faster PET scan does just that,” says Dr. Ravi Jain, a Middlesex Health radiologist. “PET scans are very valuable in planning medical treatment. The easier we can make the experience for our patients, the better.”

 

Featured Provider