Owatonna adds state-of-the-art radiology service

OWATONNA, Minn. – Mayo Clinic Health System in Owatonna now offers position emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) scanning services to help identify cancer and brain disorders. Mayo Clinic Health System is the first clinic in Owatonna to offer this state-of-the-art technology.

A PET/CT scan is an imaging test, like an X-ray or MRI, that checks for diseases in the body. Health care professionals use PET/CT scans to help diagnose, monitor or treat a patient's condition. A PET/CT scan often can identify a condition before it shows up on MRIs or CT scans alone.

"Until now, our clinicians have referred patients to Rochester when a PET/CT scan was needed," says David Penn, M.D., director of Radiology, Mayo Clinic Health System – Southeast Minnesota. "Offering this service in Owatonna will be more convenient for our patients. It also will speed up the process of diagnosing a problem for a patient and beginning a treatment plan."

Mayo Clinic Health System is partnering with DMS Health Technologies to provide the PET/CT scanning services in a mobile imaging suite that will visit Mayo Clinic Health System in Owatonna, 200 26th St. NW, every Tuesday. If a patient needs a PET/CT scan, their health care team will work with them to schedule and prepare for the scan.

From start to finish, a PET/CT scan takes about two hours to complete. Patients first receive an injection of a radioactive drug (tracer) into their arm or hand. The tracer collects into areas of the body that have higher levels of metabolic or biochemical activity, which often pinpoints the location of the disease. The patient then lies still on a padded table that slides into the scanner. After the scan is complete, a radiologist will report the findings to the patient's doctor.

"PET/CT scans are one of the most effective ways to see abnormal activity in the body’s organs and diagnose diseases like cancer and dementia," says Dr. Penn. "Providing this service locally will improve the quality of care and access for our patients in Owatonna and the surrounding communities."

 

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Kristy Jacobson
e-mail: jacobson.kristy@mayo.edu
phone: 507-263-9706