The Application of Positron Emission Tomography to the Study of Mass Transfer in Fractured Rocks

ABSTRACTWater flow in hard rocks takes place dominantly in fractures. In order to predict the transport of dissolved radioelements through a fractured rock it is necessary to take into account both the geometry of the fracture network and the hydraulic properties of the individual fractures. This paper describes a technique for studying mass transfer in a single fracture. The technique is positron emission tomography (PET) and it offers the potential for visualising quantitatively the migration of dissolved tracers. Preliminary experiments have been undertaken involving the flow of Na-22 and F-18 labelled solutions through artificial fractures. The results demonstrate that PET is well suited to this application.

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18F-fludeoxyglucose positron emission tomography for diagnosis of HCC: implications for therapeutic strategy in curative and non-curative approaches

Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology ◽

10.1177/1756284819836205 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

pp. 175628481983620 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Arno Kornberg ◽

Helmut Friess

Keyword(s):

Positron Emission Tomography ◽

Therapeutic Strategy ◽

Nuclear Imaging ◽

Tumor Burden ◽

Emission Tomography ◽

Individual Treatment ◽

Imaging Device ◽

Tumor Invasiveness ◽

Positron Emission ◽

The Individual

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a global health issue with increasing incidence and high mortality rate. Depending on the tumor load and extent of underlying liver cirrhosis, aggressive surgical treatment by hepatectomy or liver transplantation (LT) may lead to cure, whereas different modalities of liver-directed locoregional or systemic tumor treatments are currently available for a noncurative approach. Apart from tumor burden and grade of liver dysfunction, assessment of prognostic relevant biological tumor aggressiveness is vitally important for establishing a promising multimodal therapeutic strategy and improving the individual treatment-related risk/benefit ratio. In recent years, an increasing body of clinical evidence has been presented that 18F-fludeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET), which is a standard nuclear imaging device in oncology, may serve as a powerful surrogate for tumor invasiveness and prognosis in HCC patients and, thereby, impact individual decision making on most appropriate therapy concept. This review describes the currently available data on the prognostic value of 18F-FDG PET in patients with early and advanced HCC stages and the resulting implications for treatment strategy.

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Positron Emission Tomography As an Imaging Biomarker

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2006.06.6068 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 24 (20) ◽

pp. 3282-3292 ◽

Cited By ~ 196

Author(s):

Wolfgang A. Weber

Keyword(s):

Positron Emission Tomography ◽

Tumor Tissue ◽

Cytotoxic Agents ◽

Emission Tomography ◽

Imaging Biomarker ◽

Treatment Regimens ◽

Quantitative Studies ◽

Phase Ii Studies ◽

Positron Emission ◽

The Individual

Positron emission tomography (PET) allows noninvasive, quantitative studies of various biologic processes in the tumor tissue. By using PET, investigators can study the pharmacokinetics of anticancer drugs, identify various therapeutic targets and monitor the inhibition of these targets during therapy. Furthermore, PET provides various markers to assess tumor response early in the course of therapy. A significant number of studies have now shown that changes in tumor glucose utilization during the first weeks of chemotherapy are significantly correlated with patient outcome. These data suggest that PET may be used as a sensitive test to assess the activity of new cytotoxic agents in phase II studies. Furthermore, early identification of nonresponding tumors provides the opportunity to adjust treatment regimens according to the individual chemosensitivity of the tumor tissue. However, further prospective and randomized validation of PET is still required before PET controlled chemotherapy can be used in clinical practice.

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