PET-CT Centre

Mahkota PET-CT Centre is a one-stop centre and is well equipped with a sophisticated PET-CT machine (Biograph mCT 20 Excel), an in-house radiopharmaceutical laboratory (hot lab) set up with biosafety cabinet for FDG preparation; three injection rooms, recovery room, dedicated toilet, patient education room etc. for patients’ convenience and privacy. The centre prioritises radiation safety for both healthcare personnel and patients in accordance with the appropriate authorities’ health and safety regulations and guidelines.


The personnel running the PET-CT Centre consist of a team of dedicated and trained staff led by an experienced nuclear medicine physician. The team also includes a Medical Physicist, Pharmacist, Nuclear Medicine Technologist, Registered Staff Nurse and other administrative staff all trained in PET-CT services.

What is PET-CT?

PET (Positron Emission Tomography) is an advanced, cutting edge imaging modality in Nuclear Medicine. It is an imaging procedure showing the chemical function of an organ or tissue in addition to its structure, particularly cancer, using 18F Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). The CT or Computed Tomography component is built into this special scanner. Therefore, PET-CT is a fusion of two modalities; PET and CT scanner which provide functional and anatomical information simultaneously.

The combination of the two scans has been proven to be extremely sensitive for detecting the early stages of the disease and can detect abnormalities even in the absence of structural change. Small tumours may be found even if they are undetectable by other imaging procedures, which can be a major impact on choosing the best treatment options for patients.

Is PET-CT Scan safe?

Yes. The radiation received from the CT scan is low. For the PET scan, only a very small amount of F-18 FDG is injected and it loses radioactivity very quickly, with little or negligible radioactivity remaining in your body after 20 hours.

The PET-CT Centre provides the following services utilising F18 FDG for Oncology:

• Detection of occult/unknown primary tumour site in patients with metastatic disease.
• Detection of recurrence of cancer in case of elevated biochemical tumour marker without clinical signs or radiological evidence.
• Detection of tumour recurrence post therapy and on follow-up.
• Differentiation of benign and malignant tumours.
• Evaluation of the extension of the cancer process (staging and restaging).
• Evaluation of the effect of therapy (post-chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery) on cancer.
• Providing images of viable tumour distribution for designing ports for external beam radiation therapy.
• Providing images of viable tumour towards the most accessible biopsy site.
• Restaging of cancer after therapy and after recurrence. Restaging of cancer after therapy and after recurrence.
• Staging of cancers at the time of diagnosis.
• Staging of biochemical aggressiveness of cancer.