Radiopharmaceuticals are radioisotopes A google search shows that ” Radiopharmaceuticals are radioisotopes bound to biological molecules able to target specific organs, tissues or cells within the human body. These radioactive drugs can be used for the diagnosis and, increasingly, for the therapy of diseases. ”
The table below shows some examples of diagnostic uses of radiopharmaceuticals.
Examples of Useful Radiopharmaceuticals
| Procedure and Agent | Typical Activity (mCi) | Radiation Dose (rem) |
| Brain scan : 99m Tc-pertechnetate and 113m In-DTPA | 7.5 | 1.5 (colon) and 4 (bladder) |
| Liver scan: 198 Au-colloid and 99m Tc-sulfur colloid | 0.1 and 2 respectively | 5 (liver) and 0.6 (liver) respectively. |
| Bone scan: 85 Sr and 99m Tc-STPP | 0.1 and 10 respectively | 4 (bone) and 0.5 (bone) |
Notes: DTPA – diethylenetniaminepentaacid; STPP -sodium tripoly phosphate
(Ref: Data from Table 31.4, pp. 336, “Tuszynski, J. A. & Dixon, J. M., Biomedical Applications of Introduction Physics, 2002, Wiley”)
Some frequently asked questions about nuclear medicine are answered in the video below.