On Oct. 1, 1986, Positron emission tomograph (PET) and Computed tomography (CTC) were installed at the University of Washington Medical Center (UW). The UW was the first hospital in the country to install a new-generation PET/CT imaging system designed to help physicians detect, diagnose and monitor treatment of cancer and other diseases, including heart disease and neurological disease, more accurately and earlier in the disease process.

PET (positron emission tomography) and CT (computed tomography) scans are both standard imaging tools that physicians use to pinpoint disease states in the body. A PET scan demonstrates the biological function of the body before anatomical changes take place, while the CT scan provides information about the body’s anatomy such as size, shape and location.

The UW Medical Center was among first medical centers nationwide with a cyclotron, magnetic resonance imager, and PET at one site.