Why does the NT need a PET scanner and how do they work?

Positron emission tomography scans are used to diagnose and detect a host of diseases and are particularly useful for patients with cancer, heart disease, epilepsy and other neurological diseases. The Northern Territory currently has no PET scanner, although during this year's federal election campaign both the Coalition and Labor promised to provide one for Darwin. President of the Australian Medical Association in the Northern Territory, Dr Robert Parker, said a PET scan would be welcomed by doctors in Darwin. Dr Parker said at the moment patients requiring PET scans needed to travel interstate, which could be hard for very sick people to do, especially if it meant leaving their family. The PET scan detects energy emitted by positrons, which are positively-charged particles that are made when the radiotracer breaks down inside a patient's body.