18F-NaF PET Imaging for Bone Scintigraphy

Technetium-99m (99mTc) is the most widely used radionuclide in diagnostic nuclear medicine studies. It is used in 20 million diagnostic procedures worldwide annually. It became popular as a radioisotope because of its easy availability from a 99Molybdenum (99Mo)/99mTc generator, historic low costs, and previous high availability. The National Research Universal (NRU) reactor at Chalk River Laboratories (Ontario, Canada) was shut down unexpectedly in May 2009 following a leak of heavy water. The NRU reactor supplied approximately a third of the world's demand of 99Mo for 99Mo/99mTc generators used diagnostic nuclear medicine tests. Given the fragility of 99Mo supply, alternative radiopharmaceuticals, such as 18F-Sodium Fluoride (18F-NaF), are attractive options to replace 99mTc bone scans. Several studies suggest that 18F-NaF may be more accurate and more sensitive in the detection of bone metastases than 99mTc bone scans.