LMH Health hits new milestones with PET/CT technology

With the introduction of a permanent on-campus PET/CT scanner in July 2024, LMH Health continues to provide transformative healthcare services to the communities we serve.

A PET scan is an imaging test that is commonly used to check for signs of cancer, heart disease and brain disorders by revealing how tissues and/or organs are metabolically functioning.

“Cancer cells are often metabolically hyperactive,” said Dr. Thomas Grillot, chair of the radiology department at LMH Health and radiologist with Radiologic Professional Services (RPS). “This means they metabolically function differently than healthy, non-cancerous or diseased cells and tissues.”

Patients who need to complete a PET scan are injected with a radioactive medication (also known as a tracer) prior to the procedure. As the patient passes through the large opening of the scanner, the tracer will collect in those areas of the body where cells are functioning abnormally; appearing more prominent on the scanned image and therefore pinpointing the location of the disease. Indications of diseases typically show up on a PET scan well before other imaging tests such as CT or MRI.

PET and your heart

PET scans help cardiologists to evaluate the impact of heart damage after a cardiac event, like a heart attack, or to monitor the progression of heart disease. If heart tissue is diseased or damaged, it will look markedly different from healthy tissues seen on the scan.

With the introduction of this new technology, LMH Health now has the only permanent scanner providing cardiac PET/CT scans outside the Kansas City metro. The first cardiac scan at LMH was completed on August 5, meaning that local patients no longer need to drive into the city to get care.

“Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in the United States,” said Dr. Darcy Conaway, a cardiologist with Cardiovascular Specialists of Lawrence. “PET imaging provides excellent diagnostic accuracy and high image quality. They’re more efficient, allowing us to complete the scan more quickly which leads to lower radiation exposure for the patient.”

Increasing availability

Before the implementation of the permanent PET/CT scanner, LMH Health utilized a mobile PET scan service for years. Not only was the mobile unit susceptible to weather-related and driver delays, its availability was limited to one day per week. At most, LMH was able to complete 16 scans in that day.

“We often had more orders for PET scans than we had capacity,” said Carly Bartuccio, LMH Health Imaging Services manager. “Our first patient on the permanent PET/CT scanner was July 23. Since then, we’ve been averaging about seven scans per day; three to four of those are cardiac PET.”

PET scans are currently available for certain cardiology and oncology patients, but that won’t always be the case. LMH Health hopes to expand testing to include prostate cancer and specific neurological conditions and diseases.

“We’re excited to have this technology in the community,” Bartuccio said. “There’s a lot of demand and we’ve been able to increase access and availability. It’s a win-win for our patients and providers.”