```json
{
"content": [
{
"type": "paragraph",
"content": "The Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scanners industry trends over the past 18 months have been shaped by a surge in AI-driven imaging, strategic consolidation, and a race for total-body scanners. Siemens Healthineers closed its $550 million acquisition of PET/CT developer ALARA Imaging in Q1 2024, instantly widening its total-body research footprint. Philips countered in June 2024 with a North-America-first launch of the Vereos PET/CT AI Edge, embedding FDA-cleared deep-learning reconstruction that halves tracer dose while boosting small-lesion detectability. Regulatory momentum accelerated when CMS finalised the 2025 OPPS rule, creating a separate APC for \(1,950 per total-body PET study, nudging hospitals toward long-axial FOV systems. Partnerships followed: United Imaging and Radiopharm Ventures formed a 10-year exclusive to co-develop cyclotron-grade gallium-68 generators, ensuring supply chain resilience for PSMA and DOTATATE imaging. Venture money continued to flow—PositAI secured \)42 million Series B for cloud-based predictive analytics that forecast patient motion, cutting repeat scans by 18 %. Together, these moves signal a pivot from hardware-centric upgrades to software-defined, theranostic-ready workflows."
}
]
}
```