Abstract
The vast majority of PET radiopharmaceuticals today are cyclotron produced. Carbon-11 (11C), Nitrogen-13 (13N), Oxygen-15 (15O) products are created for in-house use only due to their short half-lives. The longer half-life of Fluorine-18 means that 18F-labeled PET radiotracers can be widely distributed. Production of radiopharmaceuticals is computer-controlled and automated. Automation increases both reliability and efficiency of PET operations while decreasing the radiation dose to the staff. For today, FDG remains the workhorse of oncologic PET imaging. Additional 18F PET radiotracers directed at a range of molecular processes are being studied and should become available in the future.
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Jacobson, M.S., Steichen, R.A., Peller, P.J. (2012). PET Radiochemistry and Radiopharmacy. In: Peller, P., Subramaniam, R., Guermazi, A. (eds) PET-CT and PET-MRI in Oncology. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2012_703
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2012_703
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