Bone Radionuclide Imaging, Quantitation and Bone Densitometry

Excerpt

Radionuclide bone imaging is a common investigation performed in most nuclear medicine departments. In early days, 87mSr was the bone agent used and interest in 99mTc for Nuclear Medicine imaging began in the early 1960’s. The first technetium labelled bone agent, 99mTc-polyphosphate, was described by Subramanian and McAfee in 1971. Recent years have seen a further change in the choice of optimum tracer as the wider availability of PET scanners has brought renewed interest in 18F-fluoride. The 99mTc-MDP bone scan is an old and trusted friend that continues to perform with some distinction, but it is apparent that we can do significantly better with 18F. This chapters summarises, the growth and expansion of Bone Radionuclide Imaging, Quantitation and Bone Densitometry in the UK.