POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY - ITS COST-E FFECTIVENESS

To date, positron emission tomography (PET) is the most powerful tool for the non-invasive study of biochemical processes. Besides its usefu lness for basic research PET has been proven to be superior to convent ional diagnostic methods in several clinical indications. However, the introduction of PET into clinical practice has been hindered consider ably by its costs. Several American studies lend support to the hypoth esis that PET may be more cost-effective than the conventional diagnos tic work-up - at least for some of its clinical indications. In German y, however, this hypothesis has still not been verified.