Imaging Bacterial Infection with a Radiolabelled Antibiotic

Abstract

The bio-physiological basis of nuclear medicine imaging is related to the disease process and it has been further developed - this time the target is bacteria and the disease state is infection. It is often than an inflammation may be due to bacterial infection. Conditions like osteomyelitis or endocarditis where long term antibiotic therapy would be appropriate require that the specific presence of a bacterial infection is demonstrated as the cause of inflammation. The available radiopharmaceuticals: Ga-67 citrate, Tc-99m or In-111 human immune globulin, Tc-99m antigranulocyte antibodies or binding peptides or Tc-99m/In-111 labelled leucocytes offer little help to provide this specific information. To address this issue, a search was pursued for an agent which would bind to living bacteria and that can be radiolabelled. This has resulted in development of Tc-99m Infection by Solanki et al [1].