Navigation Links
Radioactive 'understudy' may aid medical imaging, drug development
Date:1/9/2008

Broadway stars have understudies. Now, an increasingly popular radioactive isotope has its own stand-in. Developed in part by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the substance might ultimately improve medical imaging, speed up clinical trials of many drugs and facilitate efforts to develop more individualized medical treatment.

The number of medical images obtained through the technique known as positron emission tomography (PET) is increasing at a rate of 20 percent a yearand this has correspondingly increased the use of fluorine-18, the radioactive isotope of choice in the vast majority of PET procedures. Injected into the bloodstream while bound to carrier molecules, fluorine-18 lights up the body during PET scans to perform such jobs as revealing tumors, monitoring heart activity and determining which regions of the brain are active during certain tasks.

However, fluorine-18 has a very short lifea batch of the stuff decays to half its initial quantity in fewer than two hours, and less than one-ten-thousandth of the original amount is left after a single day. Because the stuff decays so quickly, it is not possible for a single central lab to make precise measurements on fluorine-18 solutions and then distribute them to far-flung centers to calibrate PET machines. This lack of a standard reference for fluorine-18 means that PET-related measurements from center to center, from patient to patient, and even in the same patient over time, are difficult or impossible to compare with one another.

NIST researchers, collaborating with an Ohio-based nuclear medicine company called RadQual, have turned to germanium-68 as a calibration surrogate for fluorine-18. This germanium isotope is much longer livedits half-life is 270.95 daysbut its radiation decay characteristics are otherwise similar to fluorine-18. Small differences between measurements of germanium-68 and fluorine-18 can be accounted for throu
'/>"/>

Contact: Ben Stein
ben.stein@nist.gov
301-975-3097
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. American College of Medical Genetics responds to new FDA labeling decision for warfarin
2. M2SYS Partners With Gnosis Medical Services to Provide Accurate Patient Identification in Developing Countries Through Innovative Biometrics Solution
3. Boston University biomedical engineers find chink in bacterias armor
4. $22 million gift from Alfred Taubman launches new biomedical research institute
5. USC biomedical team to participate in $6 million low vision project
6. 3 Columbia University Medical Center faculty elected to Institute of Medicine
7. Phase 2 of Singapores Biomedical Sciences Initiative gains momentum for clinical research
8. UMass Medical School researchers receive $8.5M grant award to fight AIDS
9. Natural product discovery by Cleveland medical researchers blocks tissue destruction
10. Triage study challenges notions of emergency medical response to disaster
11. Titanium Group Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire Multimilion Dollar Medical Software Company and Its Existing Sales Network

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:11/25/2009)...niversity assistant professors recently received f...to continue research beneficial to understanding t..., Christopher Blackwood, assistant professor in t...grants to support two separate research projects. ...ecomposer Communities and Functions from the Leaf ...
(Date:11/24/2009)... years it has been prescribed by traditional heale...daches and stomach pain to fever and flu. , Now f...sity have been able to scientifically prove the pa...wise known as Brazilian mint. , Testing this anci...esearcher Graciela Rocha was able to show that whe...
(Date:11/24/2009)...s opening new doors to understanding how sounds as...of a marine mammal or if they hear it at all. , ...nners that NASA uses to detect flaws in the space ...ing scientists to peek inside the giant head of a ...nsional replicas of a whale,s hearing anatomy usin...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Kent State University professors focus research on the environment with grants totaling $890,000 2Got a pain? -- Have a cup of Brazilian mint 2Rocket science leads to new whale discovery 2Reflective film can boost profits for apple growers 10621 1Reflective film can boost profits for apple growers 10621 2Sustainably grown garlic 10616 1Sustainably grown garlic 10616 2Sustainably grown garlic 10616 3Trauma Deadlier for Kids Without Insurance 60632 1Trauma Deadlier for Kids Without Insurance 60632 2
... Calif. (March 9, 2009)A minimally invasive interv...ively uses oxygen/ozone to relieve the pain of her...tes in the next few years, predict researchers at ...ual Scientific Meeting. In a related study, the in...relieves the pain associated with herniated disks....
...he largest study of its kind to evaluate the effec...oncludes that both are equal offenders when it com...f the study, led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson...ch issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and P...ed wine,s effects on breast-cancer risk. There is ...
...500,000 snippets of human DNA put scientists from ...ic variant on chromosome 8 occurs with significan...palate than in the control group. The results are ...urnal Nature Genetics . , Cleft lips and palates... One in about 700 babies in Central Europe are aff...
Other Biology News:Oh, my aching back: Give me a shot of ozone 2Oh, my aching back: Give me a shot of ozone 3Red wine vs. white? It makes no difference when it comes to breast-cancer risk 2Cleft lip and palate: Genes more important than thought? 2
(Date:11/24/2009)...24 Blue Marble Energy Corp. announ...evelopment Authority (OPDA) were recently awarded ...c Revitalization Board (CERB) in a private/public ...ty biochemical biorefinery in Lincoln County, WA. ...the development of our biorefinery and bring over ...
(Date:11/24/2009)...efficacy endpoint has been met for patients with a... , QUEBEC CITY, Nov. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall...Z) (the "Company"), a global biopharmaceutical com...day announced positive efficacy data from a Phase ...ate, AEZS-108 (formerly AN-152), in patients with ...
(Date:11/24/2009)...ovember 24 Shire plc (LS...pharmaceutical company, today,announced that it ha... for,velaglucerase alfa, the company,s enzyme repl...f Type 1 Gaucher disease. This is the third market...en submitted, with previous,submissions in the Uni...
(Date:11/24/2009)..., Calif., Nov. 24 Genomi...at Randy Scott, Genomic Health,s Executive Chairma...ealth Care Conference in New York City on Tuesday,...ss the live and subsequently archived webcast of t...ion of Genomic Health,s website at http://investo...
Breaking Biology Technology:Blue Marble Energy, OPDA Awarded $2M by WA's Community Economic Revitalization Board 2AEterna Zentaris Announces Positive Results for Phase 2 Study with LHRH-Receptor Targeted Cytotoxic Conjugate AEZS-108 in Endometrial Cancer 2AEterna Zentaris Announces Positive Results for Phase 2 Study with LHRH-Receptor Targeted Cytotoxic Conjugate AEZS-108 in Endometrial Cancer 3AEterna Zentaris Announces Positive Results for Phase 2 Study with LHRH-Receptor Targeted Cytotoxic Conjugate AEZS-108 in Endometrial Cancer 4Shire Submits European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for velaglucerase alfa for the Treatment of Type 1 Gaucher Disease 2Shire Submits European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for velaglucerase alfa for the Treatment of Type 1 Gaucher Disease 3Shire Submits European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for velaglucerase alfa for the Treatment of Type 1 Gaucher Disease 4Genomic Health to Present at Piper Jaffray Health Care Conference 2
...sed by the Elderly and Patients With Movement Diso...ngs , , HAIFA, Israel, May 18 Millions of people... their ability to walk. For many of them, traditio...isappointing substitute for being able to walk nor...igh-tech yet easy-to-use gait-training device, the...
...NTA, May 18 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Global biomedical...ion in Singapore in the year 2008. This rides on,S...omedical sciences R&D,expenditure exceeding US...ce in Singapore points to the city-state,s,attract...he fast growing Asian,market to fuel their growth....
...javik, ICELAND, May 17 In a paper published,today...sts from deCODE,genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN ) and acad...erlands present the discovery of single letter var... that influence the age of girls at menarche, the,...nfluenced by both genetic,and environmental factor...
Other Biology Technology:Now Available: State-of-the-Art Gait Training Device to Help Millions Walk More Normally Again 2Biomedical Sciences Companies Expanding in Asia Invested More Than US$500 Million in Singapore 2Biomedical Sciences Companies Expanding in Asia Invested More Than US$500 Million in Singapore 3Biomedical Sciences Companies Expanding in Asia Invested More Than US$500 Million in Singapore 4Biomedical Sciences Companies Expanding in Asia Invested More Than US$500 Million in Singapore 5deCODE Study Shows Complex Interplay of the Human Biological Clock With Height, Weight and Disease 2deCODE Study Shows Complex Interplay of the Human Biological Clock With Height, Weight and Disease 3deCODE Study Shows Complex Interplay of the Human Biological Clock With Height, Weight and Disease 4
...bus is a flexible, fully automated microplate stri...to its fully automated microplate strip washing ca...ith excellent performance and ease of operation. ...de manifolds of 8, 12 or 16 channels, crosswise as...
...Label Transfer Sulfo SBED Protein:Protein Interact...Transfer has rapidly gained traction as an in vitr...ing number of publications feature the exclusive P...agent to study a variety of issues relating to pro...
... Incubator is a compact benchtop and stackable mul...ntroller with a large display screen to accurately...ulation inside to evenly distribute temperature in...ed from the microprocessor controller. Built in ma...
Human siTrio from B-Bridge International
Biology Products: