Cerebral metabolic imaging can be accomplished with positron emission computer tomography (PET), magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and functional magnetic resonance imaging.
PET uses positron-emitting radioisotopes of elements with short half-live such as fluorine-18, oxygen-15, nitrogen-13, and carbon-11 as tracers to image and to measure the cerebral metabolism.

The cerebral blood pool can be imaged with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission computer tomography (PET) techniques. The used radiopharmaceuticals are technetium-99m labeled red blood cells (RCBs) for SPECT and O-15 labeled water for PET imaging. Measured can be cerebral blood volume, brain perfusion and cerebral metabolism.

See Cerebral Metabolic Imaging, Fluorodeoxyglucose, Regional Cerebral Blood Flow, Coincidence Detection, Annihilation Coincidence Detection and Cyclotron.