When there is no background (infinite contrast) activity
present, the detectability of tumors is similar for PET and
planar imaging. With the presence of the background
activity, PET can detect objects an order of magnitude
smaller in size than can be seen by conventional planar
imaging, especially in the typical clinical low (3:1) T/B ratios.
The detection capability of the MCD camera lies between a
conventional nuclear medicine (planar/SPECT) scans and
the detection capability of a dedicated PET scanner. Table 6
summarizes the detection capabilities of different
modalities in the presence of a high-background activity.