What is PSMA PET-CT?
At Qscan Radiology Clinics, our PSMA PET-CT technology provides detailed and accurate imaging to assist in the diagnosis, staging, and management of prostate cancer.
A PET-CT scan combines functional (PET) imaging with anatomical (CT) imaging. It provides you and your doctors with quantitative metabolic information about your body. A PSMA scan is a type of PET scan which uses a radioactive tracer to locate prostate cancer cells.
PSMA, which stands for prostate specific membrane antigen, is a peptide found in prostate cancer cells. The tracer is injected into the blood stream and helps to highlight any cells in the body which have PSMA on their surface.
Doctors use PSMA PET-CT scans to plan appropriate treatment for prostate cancer; a PSMA PET-CT may also be used if your doctor thinks there might be a recurrence after treatment.
Before your scan, a nuclear medicine technologist will ask you questions about your clinical history and explain the scan to you. You will have a chance to ask any questions you may have about the examination.
A cannula will be placed in one of your veins.
Then a technologist will get you settled in an uptake room with a recliner and warm blanket. The tracer will then be administered. It takes 60-90 minutes for the tracer to disperse throughout your body.
After 60-90 minutes, we will ask you to empty your bladder as best you can, and then take you through to our PET-CT scanner. You will lie on the scanning bed, as it moves through the scanner.
It is important that you lie as still as possible while the scanner is operating. Once the PET scan is performed, we will then perform the diagnostic CT scan. Depending on what your referring doctor has requested, you may also receive a second injection of CT contrast.
An PSMA PET-CT scan can take 15-40 minutes. Generally, a PET-CT appointment will take around 2.5 hours in total.
We will let you know how long your appointment is scheduled for at the time of booking.
After your scan, a PET-CT technologist will generate the images and upload them onto our private electronic database. Our highly trained subspecialist PET Radiologists will interpret the images, produce a report, and send it to your referring doctor. Our Radiologists have very close working relationships with many of the referring doctors and will contact them urgently if appropriate.
Our friendly customer service team will ask you some questions, and advise of specific preparation at the time of booking.
In general, PSMA PET-CT preparation includes:
Day before the scan | On the day of the scan |
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When booking your scan, please notify staff if you:
- Have kidney failure
- Have diabetes
- Have previously had a reaction to intravenous contrast for CT scans
- Are severely claustrophobic
- Have any allergies
Having accurate dates of your most recent medical history, including prior imaging, surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, will also help in the booking process.
If you have had scans elsewhere, please bring all relevant imaging with you on the day of your scan so it can be uploaded onto our system for comparison.
You will be given an arrival time well in advance of your camera time, so the tracer can be administered. Tracers decay rapidly after production, and your administered dose has been calculated based on your body weight and to align with your appointment time.
The amount of radiation used in PET-CT imaging is typically small. Health experts feel the risk to your health from this is very small and the benefits of the diagnostic information obtained usually outweigh any potential risks.
Our friendly team will advise you of any required after care following your scan. After a PSMA PET-CT scan you may continue with your normal daily activities, unless advised otherwise by your healthcare practitioner.
If you have had sedation, you will require somebody to drive you home.
It is recommended to avoid close contact with children and pregnant women for 12 hours post-injection.
Qscan bulk bills Medicare eligible PSMA PET-CT scans if you have a referral from a specialist doctor. A referral received from a GP will incur a gap payment.
Our customer service team will be able to advise you of any costs that may be involved with your PET-CT scan.
