Radiopharmaceuticals and Tracers

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.

Transaxial 11Csarcosine hybrid PET/CT showed a (triangulated) adenocarcinoma in the transition zone of the anterior right prostate gland on PET (A), CT (B), and a separately obtained T2?weighted MR sequence (C) with resulting PET/MRI registration (D). Image courtesy of M. Piert et al., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.

PET images (MIP 0-60 min) of three Cynomolgus monkeys. Strong signals are detected at the sites where inserted catheters had roughened surfaces. Almost no other background signal is visible. Only accumulation in the gallbladder becomes visible at the bottom of the image. Credit: Piramal Imaging GmbH, Berlin Germany.