PET SIGNIFICANCE
Positron emission tomography or PET is performed with the help of an intravenous injection directly into the body of Homo sapiens. A tracer is generally regarded as a biological compound of interest that is labelled by a positron-emitting isotope, like 18F, 11C & 15O. These isotopes are used widely across the globe because they have very short half-lives comparatively (minutes to less than 2 hours), thus allowing the tracers to reach the equilibrium state of the body but not exposing the subjects to prolonged radiation periods. The cyclotrons help in the acceleration of proton beams with the usage of 2 HV electrodes & direct it towards the targeted nuclei hence inculcating an extra proton within them. The worldwide Positron Emission Tomography market worth was around USD 1016.20 Mn in 2020. The overall share is forecasted to grow up to USD 1508.57 million in 2030 with a CAGR of nearly 4.03%.
The various applications of Positron Emission Tomography
a.) Different kinds of Movement disorders
Dopamine is regarded as the chief neurotransmitter in the overall nigrostriatal pallidal thalamocortical circuit. The F-6-Fluorodopa (popularly known as F-dopa) is one of the most widely used ligands for the study of the dopaminergic system in movement disorders. The F-dopa is entirely taken up by various terminals of dopaminergic neurons & then it is again converted to F Dopamine by the dopa decarboxylase & gradually into the other metabolites of dopamine. The influx constant (Ki) of the F-dopa entirely reflects the dopa transport into the terminals, dopamine storage capacity, and dopa decarboxylase activity. Hence, the F-dopa PET can provide a vivo indicator of the various functions & integrity of the presynaptic dopaminergic terminals. The various types of tracers that bind the presynaptic dopamine transporters, like C-methylphenidate, & some dopamine terminal vesicle-monoamine transporters, like 11C-dihydro-tetrabenazine, are also regarded as the markers of the presynaptic dopaminergic functions.
b.) The process of Epilepsy
The complex partial seizures are conducted among the significant proportion of patients whose conditions remain uncontrolled in spite of undergoing optimal medical therapy. The surgical removal of the epileptogenic foci in some partial seizures like intractable temporal lobe epilepsy results in one of the most significant improvisations in control of the seizures & the quality of life.
The modern MRI has the capability to identify the source of the seizure among the majority of patients who underwent partial seizures. However, nearly (20–30) % of the potential surgical candidates consisting of focal epilepsy showed normal MRI values. These patients have fewer chances of becoming entirely seizure-free if they do undergo any sort of epilepsy surgery. Further, various Microscopic structural abnormalities that can only be evident on the histological examination cannot be detected on MRI. The main clinical usage of PET in epilepsy is the localisation of the epileptogenic foci among the potential surgical candidates having partial seizures & corroborating findings from the other types of investigational modalities like electroencephalography (EEG).
CONCLUSION
Due to the various above-mentioned functions, the PET (Positron Emission Tomography) market is assumed to grow at an exponential rate in the future, thereby catering to ample opportunities for market growth.
