In vivo radionuclide uptake quantification using a multi-pinhole SPECT system to predict renal function in small...

Area of Science:

• Nuclear medicine
• Preclinical imaging
• Radiopharmaceutical research

Background:

• In vivo quantification of radiopharmaceuticals is crucial for drug development.
• Multi-pinhole single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) offers potential for accurate in vivo measurements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of in vivo quantification using a novel multi-pinhole SPECT system in rats.
• To assess the utility of this SPECT system for preclinical drug development.

Main Methods:

• Lewis rats with varying renal dysfunction were injected with 99mTc-dimercaptosuccinic acid.
• Kidney SPECT imaging was performed using a four-headed multi-pinhole SPECT camera.
• Ex vivo gamma counting and iterative reconstruction of SPECT data were used for quantification.

Main Results:

• Measured uptake values ranged from 0.71% to 21.87% of injected activity.
• A strong linear correlation (r2=0.946) was observed between in vivo and ex vivo activity measurements.

Conclusions:

• The multi-pinhole SPECT system demonstrates high accuracy for in vivo quantification.
• This technology is a reliable tool for preclinical drug development studies.