Most Common Radionuclides in Nuclear Medicine

From the radionuclides used for medical applications (shown in Table 12.3), the (metastable) technetium-99m (Tc-99m) is the most commonly used with a share of

Table 12.3 Radionuclides Used Frequently for Medical Purposes

Nuclide

Decay

Mode

Photon Energy (keV)

Half-Life

Applications

Production

Tc-99 m

IT

141

6 h

Many

Generator

Tl-201

EC

167 (Y-rays) 65-82 (X-rays)

73 h

Myocardial perfusion

Cyclotron

I-131

в

364

8 days

Thyroid (1 therapy)

Reactor

I-123

EC

159

13 h

Thyroid; proteins

Cyclotron

Ga-67

EC

93, 185, 300

78 h

Tumor; inflammation

Cyclotron

In-111

EC

172

67 h

Tumor;

immunoscintigraphy

Cyclotron

F-18

в+

a. r.

109 min

Glucose metabolism PET

Cyclotron

I-125

EC

27-35

60 days

In vitro (in kits)

Reactor

EC, electron capture; IT, isomeric transition; a. r., annihilation radiation.

about 80% since it optimally meets the previously mentioned requirements, having a gamma energy of 141 keV and a half-life of 6 h. Last but not least, it is a genera­tor product.