25 years since the first PET scan in the Czech Republic

Na Homolce Hospital built the PET centre in cooperation with the Institute of Nuclear Research Řež, a. s., and the project was supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency.  It was a model project to test whether such a complex technology could be operated in a developing post-communist country. Positron emission tomography soon proved its worth in clinical practice and succeeded not only in gaining the trust of clinical partners but also in gaining full reimbursement from public health insurance.

Today, PET scanning is already one of the basic examination methods in oncology and is also used for the diagnosis of inflammatory and neurological diseases, e.g. in connection with Alzheimer's disease. 

What is the present? 

The Department of Nuclear Medicine at Na Homolce Hospital is now equipped with two state-of-the-art hybrid PET/CT scanners and a hybrid PET/MR scanner, which uses the method of magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography in one examination. For this specialised examination, the department works closely with the radiology department.

A prerequisite for the examination is the administration of a small amount of a mildly radioactive substance. A PET camera is then used to monitor which parts of the body have been affected. An increased amount of radioactivity in a particular part of a tissue or organ may indicate a cancerous growth or inflammation. Thus, PET assesses the functional properties of the tissues, while CT precisely locates the deposits in a single examination. 

PET/CT is a very expensive and organisationally demanding examination because the radiopharmaceuticals used have a short half-life of 1-2 hours; they are therefore prepared shortly before the examination. The Department of Nuclear Medicine at the Na Homolce Hospital is the busiest department in the country and examines over 50 patients per day. 

In the last two years, the department has undergone a costly and complex modernisation. The hospital has significantly expanded the premises of the Nuclear Medicine Department and acquired a state-of-the-art diagnostic PET/MR machine, which will be highly beneficial not only for patients from Prague and Central Bohemia, but also from other regions. The production facilities for the new cyclotron, which is located in the same building, have been adapted and the staff facilities have been expanded - all while the department is fully operational. 

"The introduction of positron emission tomography 25 years ago was a significant milestone for the Na Homolce Hospital, which put us at the forefront of diagnostic medicine not only in the Czech Republic, but also in the whole of Central and Eastern Europe. Thanks to innovations and continuous development, we are able to offer patients the best of modern diagnostics today, especially thanks to a great team of experts and state-of-the-art technological equipment," said Petr Polouček, MBA, Director of the Hospital Na Homolce.

Historical milestones of the PET department:

• 1999 launch of positron emission tomography (PET), the first in post-communist Europe
• 2003 launch of the hybrid PET/CT scanner, the first in the Czech Republic
• 2023 launch of the hybrid PET/MR scanner