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Assessment of the short-lived non-pure positron-emitting nuclide 120I for PET imaging

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Abstract

Purpose

The non-pure positron-emitting iodine isotope 120I (T 1/2=81 min) is a short-lived alternative to 124I. 120I has a positron abundance more than twice that of 124I and a maximum positron energy of 4 MeV. This study was undertaken to evaluate and characterise the qualitative and quantitative PET imaging of 120I.

Methods

120I was produced via the 120Te(p,n) reaction on highly enriched 120Te. The measurements were done with the Siemens scanner HR+ and the 2D PET scanner GE PC4096+. A cylinder containing three cold inserts and a phantom resembling a human brain slice were used to evaluate half-life, positron abundance and background correction. To analyse the image resolution, a 1-mm tube placed in water was filled with 120I and 18F. Comparisons with 18F, 124I and 123I (measured with SPECT) were made using the Hoffman 3D brain phantom.

Results

The half-life of 81.1 min was reproduced by the PET measurements. The PET-based positron abundance ranged from 47.9% to 55.0%. The reconstructed image resolution found with the HR+ was 5.4 mm FWHM (12.3 mm FWTM), in contrast to 4.6 mm (8.6 mm) when using 18F. Erroneous positive and negative numbers of radioactivity found in the cold inserts became nearly zero when the background of γ-coincidences was corrected for. Images of the Hoffman phantom were inferior to those obtained when 18F or 124I was applied but superior to the 123I-SPECT images.

Conclusion

Our data show that 120I of high radionuclidic purity can be regarded as a suitable nuclide for the PET imaging of radioiodine-labelled pharmaceuticals.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the help of T. Jacke in the analysis of the PET data, valuable discussions with A. Schmid, and the secretarial assistance of M. Bunn. We thank the crew of the compact cyclotron CV 28 for performing the irradiations, A. Hohn for some preliminary work on the production of 120I, and B. Scholten for some experimental support in radionuclide production. This work was supported in part by DFG grant HE3090/2–1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Medicine, Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425, Juelich, Germany

    H. Herzog, L. Tellmann & D. Kruecker

  2. Institute of Nuclear Chemistry, Forschungszentrum Juelich, Juelich, Germany

    S. M. Qaim, S. Spellerberg & H. H. Coenen

  3. Brain Imaging Center West, Juelich, Germany

    H. Herzog

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  1. H. Herzog
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  2. S. M. Qaim
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  6. H. H. Coenen
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Correspondence to H. Herzog.

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Herzog, H., Qaim, S.M., Tellmann, L. et al. Assessment of the short-lived non-pure positron-emitting nuclide 120I for PET imaging. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 33, 1249–1257 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-006-0176-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-006-0176-5

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