In South Africa the cost of a PET Scan is R30,000 if you are on a medical assistance scheme. If you take a PET Scan privately you can get a big discount normally. I'm not sure why. It's beside the point.
Internationally the cost is anywhere between $1500 and $3000.
There are three good reasons why the procedure is costly.
1. The equipment is expensive.
2. The technology is quite new and the demand outstrips the supply
3. The most important reason is the need for the FDG radio-isotope. The FDG has to be made to order. It is a radio-active substance (a fluorinated sugar) and it has a very short life span. It is produced in a Cyclotron.
Until July 2005 it was not possible to have a PET-CT scan anywhere in South Africa.
This was not because the machine was not available.
There was just no FDG production capability in the country and the FDG cannot be flew out from the USA or Europe. It is very unstable ... FDG has a half life of 110 minutes. If you needed a PET scan you had to travel. Now it's possible to come to South Africa on holiday and have a PET scan and at a low cost too.
As I write there are two South African FDG production facilities ... one in Pelindaba, about 50 kms west of Pretoria, and one in Faure Western Cape, close to Cape Town.
In the near future a number of dual headed gamma cameras will be converted to PET-CT scanners.
The secret is in the biochemistry and the isotope preparation and distribution.
The distribution is of the FDG is critical ... traffic jams have to be avoided. Timing is critical.
The FDG ticks away. In 110 minutes time there will only be half left and a further 110 minutes later the FDG will be halved again.