Radiopharmaceuticals and Tracers

MURR is the only supplier of I 131 in the United States and the first U.S. supplier since the 1980s. Image courtesy of University of Missouri

Researchers are using the tracer, which is injected into a patient, then seen with a PET scan, to see if it is possible to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy in living patients. In this image, warmer colors indicate a higher concentration of the tracer, which binds to abnormal proteins in the brain. Credit UCLA Health.

Coronal 18F-FEDAC PET/CT section of a mouse with collagen-induced arthritis. (A) On day 23 and day 37, increased uptake is noted in the front and hind paws of this mouse with collagen-induced arthritis. (B) Predictive performance of day 23 18F-FEDAC uptake for the development of clinical arthritis. ROC = receiver operating characteristic; Sn = sensitivity; Sp = specificity. Credit: Seoul National University and Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea

Representative PET/CT images of 18F-FDS and 18F-FDG in inflamed mice. Mice were inoculated with dead K. pneumoniae (10^8 CFU/mL). Imaging was performed for days 1, 2, 3 and 4 using 18F-FDG and 18F-FDS. CT images showed clear inflammation on day 2 and day 3 with corresponding high 18F-FDG uptake on PET. No significant uptake of 18F-FDS was detected for any of those 4 days. Credit: J Li et al., University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Ky.