Uses and limitations of positron emission tomography in clinical pharmacokinetics/dynamics (Part I)

Positron emission tomography (PET) involves imaging the biodistribution and tissue localisation of small amounts of radiolabelled biomolecules or drugs. In Part I of this article, the applications of pharmacokinetics in PET are discussed in order to derive quantitative measures of physiological function. Part II will examine the use of PET imaging as a tool to study the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of specific drugs.