Medical Image of the Year

The orange areas around this human lung indicate a primary cancer lesion, as well as the cancer's spread to a nearby lymph node.

The image - which combines PET and CT scans - was named the 2005 Image of the Year at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's 52nd Annual Meeting in Toronto.  The fusion of two imaging techniques gives a clearer representation of what's going on in a patient's body.

"Our new strategy is to fuse PET and CT in order to travel through and around organs for improved visualization of the 3-D anatomical and functional data sets," said Sanjiv Gambhir, director of the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford University.

PET (Positron Emission Tomography) uses radioactive tracers that can highlight cells of a certain type or function.  CT (Computer Tomography) is an X-ray procedure that provides detailed pictures of organs and tissues of the body.

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-- LiveScience Staff

Credit: MIPS/Stanford/ Quon A and Gambhir SS