TABLE 3.
Properties of SPECT and PET Radionuclides with Existing or Potential Applications in Cardiovascular Imaging ( 9 , 12 , 70 )
| Radionuclide | Production | Half-life | Decay (%) | E β+ max (MeV) | R β+ mean (mm) | E γ (MeV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| γ-emitters (SPECT) | ||||||
| 99mTc | Generator (99Mo) | 6.0 h | IT (88), IC | — | — | 0.141 |
| 201Tl | Cyclotron | 73.1 h | EC | — | — | 0.068–0.083* |
| 123I | Cyclotron | 13.2 h | EC (87), IC | — | — | 0.159 † |
| Pure positron emitters (PET) | ||||||
| 15O | Cyclotron | 2 min | β+ (99.9) | 1.732 | 3.0 | — |
| 13N | Cyclotron | 10.0 min | β+ (99.8) | 1.199 | 1.8 | — |
| 11C | Cyclotron | 20.4 min | β+ (99.8) | 0.960 | 1.2 | — |
| 18F | Cyclotron | 110 min | β+ (96.9) | 0.634 | 0.6 | — |
| Mixed emitters (PET) | ||||||
| 64Cu | Cyclotron | 12.7 h | β+ (17.5)/EC | 0.653 | 0.7 | — |
| β− (38.5) | — | — | — | |||
| 89Zr | Cyclotron | 78.4 h | β+ (22.7)/EC | 0.902 | 1.3 | 0.909 ‡ |
| 82Rb | Generator (82Sr) | 1.3 min | β1 + (81.8) | 3.378 | 7.1 | — |
| β2 + (13.1)/EC | 2.601 | 5.0 | 0.777 | |||
| 68Ga | Generator (68Ge) | 68 min | β1 + (87.7) | 1.899 | 3.5 | — |
| β2 + (1.2)/EC | 0.821 | 1.1 | 1.077 | |||
| 124I | Cyclotron | 100.2 h | β1 + (11.7)/EC | 1.535 | 2.8 | 0.602 |
| β2 + (10.7) | 2.138 | 4.4 | — | |||
| β3 + (0.3)/EC | 0.812 | 1.1 | 0.723 | |||
| EC | — | — | 1.691 |
E β+ max = maximum energy of positrons; R β+ mean = mean range of positrons in water; E γ = γ emission energy; IT = isomeric transition; IC = internal conversion; EC = electron capture.
*Nongaussian photopeak.
†Emits small proportions of high-energy γ-photons (>0.400 MeV) in addition to its primary emission at 0.159 MeV.
‡Does not behave as prompt γ because of long half-life of metastable intermediate.