Aim: A brief review of radionuclides and radiopharmaceuticals for PET/CT. Our experience with cyclotron and “dose on demand”® production of [18F] FDG. Comparison between workflow with imported [18F] FDG and the FDG produced on site, in our own facility.
Materials and Methods: The two raw materials we need for the [18F] production are Hydrogen and [18O] enriched water. The hydrogen gets ionised by high voltage in an ion source. Then the protons are accelerated by the Dee halves (and RF voltage) in magnetic field. The accelerated beam bombards a HAVAR® window target. During the bombardment of the [18O] water inside the target а (p,n) nuclear reaction occurs and [18F] is produced as a result.
Results: With imported [18F] FDG we used to examine 11 to 13 patients per day with 17GBq of activity (on arrival out of initial 37GBq at factory). Now that we produce our own FDG we examine the same amount of patients with no more than 3,7GBq of activity. On average 2000 patients undergo PET/CT imaging at our hos-pital annually.
Conclusion: Advantages of the on-site production: by producing our own [18F] FDG we gain independence from severe weather conditions, delivery schedules, national holidays, insufficient dose activity, the dose is there when we need it, lower price for a dose, etc.
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