Radiopharmaceuticals: Production and Availability

1. The use of specific radiotracers called radiopharmaceuticals for imaging organ function and disease states is a unique capability of nuclear medicine. Unlike other imaging modalities such as Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Ultrasonography (US), nuclear medicine procedures are capable of mapping physiological function and metabolic activity and thereby giving more specific information about the organ function and dysfunction (1). The mapping of the radiopharmaceutical distribution in vivo provides images of functional morphology of organs in a non-invasive manner and plays an important role in the diagnosis of many common diseases associated with the malfunctioning of organs in the body as well as in the detection of certain type of cancers. The widespread utilization and growing demands for these techniques are directly attributable to the development and availability of a vast range of specific radiopharmaceuticals.