Table 2.
Comparison of the available tracers for quantitative perfusion PET
| [15O]water | [13N]NH3 | 82Rb | [18F]flurpiridaz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radionuclide half-life | 122 s | 9.96 min | 75 s | 109.8 min |
| Availability | On-site cyclotron | On-site cyclotron | Generator | Cyclotron (possible shipping) |
| Mean positron range in water (mm) [20] | 2.5 | 1.5 | 5.9 | 0.6 |
| Relationship with MBF | Ideal (freely diffusible) | High extraction fraction | Non-linear extraction fraction | High extraction fraction |
| Image quality | Parametric MBF images only | Good to high | Fair to good | Very high |
| Gated imaging | Possible from first pass (blood pool) | High quality | Good quality | High quality |
| Time schedule | Very tight | Interval between rest and stress injections | Very tight | Separate stress and rest injections |
| Previous experience | Used mainly in research setting and with hybrid imaging | Widely used qualitatively and quantitatively | Widely used qualitatively and quantitatively | Presently ongoing phase III trial |
MBF = myocardial blood flow