Achievements of the Polish pet centres

PET/CT has established its role in the diagnosis of several diseases, especially in the field of oncology. The first Polish scanner began work in 2003 at the Centre of the Oncology Institute in Bydgoszcz. Further installations were linked with the Ministry of Health programme and with the diagnostic activities of non-public medical companies. On 16 May 2012 there were 14 active PET centres in Poland (8 public and 6 non-public), with 16 scanners. The number of working cyclotrons dedicated to PET-radiopharmaceuticals synthesis is at present 5, with a further 3-4 cyclotrons planned. Currently, the PET/CT technique is widely available in Poland; in 2011 28 199 PET studies were performed in total and oncology represented 97.5% of these. Further development of molecular imaging with PET/CT depends on the introduction of new radiopharmaceuticals and new research programmes in our country.