What is being injected for the scan and why?

Fluorodeoxyglucose, or FDG, is a type of glucose (or sugar) that is injected into the body for a PET/CT scan. Glucose is a common substance that every cell in the body requires in order to function. Only a very small amount of the FDG is used for the scan - such a small amount that it would take 1,000,000 doses of FDG to equal the amount of glucose found in one teaspoon of sugar.

The FDG used in the PET/CT scan is absorbed inside the body's tissue. Areas with rapid cell growth, such as malignant tumors, will absorb more of the substance, allowing our specialized PET/CT radiologists to identify areas with disease.