PET/CT Scan

Hybrid positron emission tomography combined with CT (PET/CT) at the hospital's dedicated PET Centre — the Czech Republic's first PET facility (1999), now one of the largest in Europe with over 10,000 annual examinations. Oncological, inflammatory, and neurological indications. Estimated price: €800–1,000.

The PET Centre at Na Homolce Hospital is among the most distinguished nuclear medicine facilities in Central Europe. Established in 1999 as the first PET facility in the Czech Republic, and operating hybrid PET/CT since 2003, it is today one of Europe's largest centres for hybrid molecular imaging, completing over 10,000 PET/CT and PET/MR examinations per year. The centre is certified to ISO 9001:2015 standard and serves as an IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Model Project — a distinction reserved for facilities that demonstrate exceptional quality and are used as international training and reference sites. The PET Centre's equipment portfolio includes two state-of-the-art PET/CT scanners and, since July 2023, a PET/MR scanner — the most complex hybrid imaging system in clinical use, combining metabolic PET data with the superior soft-tissue contrast of MRI. The combination of PET/CT and PET/MR makes the centre capable of comprehensive metabolic and anatomical assessment in a single appointment for appropriate cases, avoiding repeat examination at separate facilities. PET/CT uses a radiotracer — most commonly 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), a labelled glucose analogue — to detect sites of elevated metabolic activity. Tumour cells and inflammatory tissue typically show markedly higher glucose uptake than surrounding normal tissue, producing bright signals on the PET component. The simultaneously acquired CT provides precise anatomical localisation of each metabolic signal. The result is a fused functional-anatomical map of the body that is more sensitive and specific for detecting cancer, staging disease, identifying treatment response, and detecting recurrence than CT or PET alone. Clinical indications served include oncology staging and restaging (lung, colorectal, breast, lymphoma, melanoma, head and neck cancers), detection of occult malignancy in patients with paraneoplastic syndromes or elevated tumour markers, cardiac viability assessment (using FDG or perfusion tracers), infection and inflammation localisation, and neurological conditions including dementia and epilepsy. The centre participates in tens of clinical research trials conducted under Good Clinical Practice principles. The PET Centre is located in a dedicated building on the Na Homolce campus, separate from the main hospital building. International patients contact the Foreign Patients department for referral coordination and appointment scheduling. The examination requires fasting for at least four to six hours before the radiotracer injection, and patients should allow approximately three hours on-site including tracer uptake waiting time, imaging, and post-examination monitoring. The written report is prepared by specialist nuclear medicine physicians and typically available within one to two working days.