# Total-body PET for screening and ultra-low-dose imaging

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/total-body-pet-screening/  
OnCo record `total-body-pet-screening` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Scanners sensitive enough to image the whole body in seconds at a fraction of the radiation dose, which raises the question of whether healthy people should be scanned at all.

## Summary

Total-body PET systems capture the entire body in one field of view with roughly forty times the sensitivity of conventional scanners, enabling minute-long scans, tracer doses a fraction of the usual, and dynamic whole-body kinetics. That makes asymptomatic screening technically conceivable for the first time, but there is no evidence of mortality benefit, and incidentalomas, cost and radiation argue against it. The near-term value is in dosimetry, paediatrics and pharmacokinetic research.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: concept
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Tags: frontier
- Principle: A long axial field-of-view detector ring captures far more of the emitted photons, letting sensitivity be traded for dose, time, or both.
- Strengths: Ultra-low-dose or ultra-fast scans; Whole-body kinetic modelling for radioligand dosimetry; Better paediatric and repeat imaging
- Limitations: No screening evidence and likely overdiagnosis; Scanner cost limits access; Tracer supply and reimbursement

## Sources

- ClinicalTrials.gov: total-body PET: https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?term=total-body%20PET

## Connected records

- fronts: [Early Detection & Screening](https://onco.cc/fronts/early-detection/), [Imaging](https://onco.cc/fronts/imaging/)
- technologies: [Multi-cancer early detection (MCED)](https://onco.cc/technologies/mced/), [PET (positron emission tomography)](https://onco.cc/technologies/pet/), [PET/CT](https://onco.cc/technologies/pet-ct/), [Whole-body MRI](https://onco.cc/technologies/whole-body-mri/)
- companies: [Siemens Healthineers](https://onco.cc/companies/siemens-healthineers/), [United Imaging](https://onco.cc/companies/united-imaging/)
- terms: [Dosimetry](https://onco.cc/terms/dosimetry/), [Stage shift](https://onco.cc/terms/stage-shift/)
- roadmaps: [Paths to cures: interception, eradication, control](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/cure-paths/), [Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/frontier-2035/)

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