Simplicity or complexity of the radiopharmaceutical production process in the light of optimization of radiation protection of staff – 99m Tc vs. 18 F

• Main Author: Małgorzata Wrzesień
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine 2018-05-01
• Series: Medycyna Pracy
• Subjects: nuclear medicine; thermoluminescent detector; optimization; radiopharmaceutical; isotope; equivalent dose
• Online Access: http://medpr.imp.lodz.pl/Prostota-czy-zlozonosc-procesu-wytwarzania-radiofarmaceutykow-w-swietle-optymalizacji,81305,0,2.html

Background A radiopharmaceutical is a combination of a non-radioactive compound with a radioactive isotope. Two isotopes: technetium- 99m ( 99m Tc) and fluorine-18 ( 18 F) are worth mentioning on the rich list of isotopes which have found numerous medical applications. Their similarity is limited only to the diagnostic area of applicability. The type and the energy of emitted radiation, the half-life and, in particular, the production method demonstrate their diversity. The 99m Tc isotope is produced by a short-lived nuclide generator – molybdenum-99 ( 99 Mo)/ 99m Tc, while 18 F is resulting from nuclear reaction occurring in a cyclotron. A relatively simple and easy handling of the 99 Mo/ 99m Tc generator, compared to the necessary use a cyclotron, seems to favor the principle of optimizing the radiological protection of personnel. The thesis on the effect of automation of both the 18 F isotope production and the deoxyglucose labelling process on the optimization of radiological protection of workers compared to manual procedures during handling of radiopharmaceuticals labelled with 99m Tc need to be verified. Material and Methods Measurements of personal dose equivalent Hp(0.07) were made in 5 nuclear medicine departments and 2 radiopharmaceuticals production centers. High-sensitivity thermoluminescent detectors (LiF: Mg, Cu, P – MCP-N) were used to determine the doses. Results Among the activities performed by employees of both 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18 F-FDG) production centers and nuclear medicine departments, the manual quality control procedures and labelling of radiopharmaceuticals with 99m Tc isotope manifest the greatest contribution to the recorded Hp(0.07). Conclusions The simplicity of obtaining the 99m Tc isotope as well as the complex, but fully automated production process of the 18 F-FDG radiopharmaceutical optimize the radiation protection of workers, excluding manual procedures labelling with 99m Tc or quality control of 18 F-FDG. Med Pr 2018;69(3):317–327