{"entity":{"id":"total-body-pet-screening","kind":"technology","name":"Total-body PET for screening and ultra-low-dose imaging","aka":[],"tldr":"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.","status":"concept","asOf":"2026-09-08","links":[{"label":"ClinicalTrials.gov: total-body PET","url":"https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?term=total-body%20PET"}],"tags":["frontier"],"related":[],"cancers":[],"sections":["imaging","early-detection"],"technologies":["pet-ct","pet","whole-body-mri","mced"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":["united-imaging","siemens-healthineers"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["dosimetry","stage-shift"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"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"]},"route":"/technologies/total-body-pet-screening/","neighbours":{"section":[{"id":"early-detection","kind":"section","name":"Early Detection & Screening","route":"/fronts/early-detection/"},{"id":"imaging","kind":"section","name":"Imaging","route":"/fronts/imaging/"}],"technology":[{"id":"mced","kind":"technology","name":"Multi-cancer early detection (MCED)","route":"/technologies/mced/"},{"id":"pet","kind":"technology","name":"PET (positron emission tomography)","route":"/technologies/pet/"},{"id":"pet-ct","kind":"technology","name":"PET/CT","route":"/technologies/pet-ct/"},{"id":"whole-body-mri","kind":"technology","name":"Whole-body MRI","route":"/technologies/whole-body-mri/"}],"company":[{"id":"siemens-healthineers","kind":"company","name":"Siemens Healthineers","route":"/companies/siemens-healthineers/"},{"id":"united-imaging","kind":"company","name":"United Imaging","route":"/companies/united-imaging/"}],"term":[{"id":"dosimetry","kind":"term","name":"Dosimetry","route":"/terms/dosimetry/"},{"id":"stage-shift","kind":"term","name":"Stage shift","route":"/terms/stage-shift/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"cure-paths","kind":"roadmap","name":"Paths to cures: interception, eradication, control","route":"/roadmaps/cure-paths/"},{"id":"frontier-2035","kind":"roadmap","name":"Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035","route":"/roadmaps/frontier-2035/"}]}}