A new total-body PET scanner that is quicker for the patient and produces higher quality images for faster and earlier diagnosis and  treatment of illnesses like cancer and heart conditions, was unveiled by Ministers in London yesterday (Wednesday 27 November).

The new scanner, one of three becoming operational in the UK, is up to 40 times more sensitive and up to 10 times faster than existing machines, meaning quicker diagnoses and a more detailed reading of the patient's whole body. It will also give researchers unparalleled insights into human biology that ultimately leads to better healthcare.

The first of several patients to use the new total body PET scanner at St Thomas’ Hospital in the past month was Sarah Corfield, who has stage 4 melanoma and has been receiving regular PET scans as a patient at Guy’s and St Thomas’ as part of the diagnoses and treatment for her condition.

Sarah Corfield said: “I’ve had so many PET scans, so I’m very used to the experience. Previously, the scans would take 30 minutes, the bed was very hard and the scanning table would move in and out, capturing the different images. It could be quite noisy, too.

“The new scanner was a good experience – it felt very open, and not at all claustrophobic. It was much quicker – I was done in 15 minutes, and they told me the images were much higher quality.

“It was very smooth. I just lay there, like on a sun lounger, thinking of my little dog Maggie. It was very smooth, and much quieter.”

The scanner will feed findings into the new National PET Imaging Platform (NPIP). NPIP…