New Fetal Radiation Doses for ¹⁸F-FDG Based on Human Data

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Medicine
• Medical Physics
• Radiological Sciences

Background:

• Current fetal radiation dose assessments for 18F-FDG PET scans rely on animal data.
• This approach has limitations in accurately reflecting human fetal dosimetry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To revise and improve fetal dosimetry values for 18F-FDG administration in pregnant patients.
• To incorporate direct human in vivo measurements for more accurate dose estimation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized recently published human data with direct observation of fetal 18F-FDG uptake.
• Calculated time-integrated activity coefficients from observed data.
• Employed advanced anthropomorphic voxel-based pregnancy phantoms for dose calculation.

Main Results:

• Revised fetal dosimetry values based on direct human measurements.
• Demonstrated improved accuracy compared to existing animal-derived estimates.
• Provided updated dose data for 18F-FDG exposure in pregnancy.

Conclusions:

• The revised fetal dosimetry values offer a more accurate assessment for 18F-FDG PET in pregnant women.
• Direct human data integration enhances the reliability of fetal radiation dose calculations.
• This work supports safer application of 18F-FDG PET during pregnancy.