The Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is explained as a medical imaging technique widely used in hospitals to detect anomalies in the body of patients (like cancer tumors) on a daily basis. The article explains how PET works and how knowledge of basic physics processes is used to visualize the physiological processes in biological systems.
Different elements routinely used by experimental physicist are involved including detectors, electronics and image reconstruction technologies. The history of the PET evolution, including some personal stories, is available as Addendum.
Authors: Beatrice Bressan, Yiota Foka, Barbora Bruant Gulejova, Despina Hatziphotiadou
