[fareed79]

This is not a CT but a PET scan, it records passive radiation from a molecule injected into the body, and therefore a 10 min long scan. Then it is based on radioactive carbon (C-11), which is pretty uncommon and needs quick use after production, so not every PET(CT) can do that, it needs be in the vicinity of a production facility (i.e. close to a university/research hospital). This is the sense of the last sentence: it needs a replacement the carbon with another radioactive isotope (fluor for instance) to be doable at every PET/CT place. I don't blame the title here, because the article itself is very strangely written, it says as well "CT scan" but this is no "CT scan", this is a PET scan.

[DougMerritt]

Right, but it's a weird terminology subject, because CT is just short for "Computerized Tomography", with the initial implied "X-ray" part being a convention -- but all of these 3D scan techniques are variant kinds of Tomography, with X-ray CT/CAT scans being the original kind.

Your comments about C-11 are well-taken and an important caveat.

[kris_wayton]

That's interesting, thanks for sharing. I was aware of the more common "radioactive glucose" PET scan that helps pinpoint cancer...where fast reproducing cells consume glucose. Didn't know there were adjacent types of PET scans.