Absorbed dose comparison: positron emitters 11C, 13N, and 15O versus gamma-ray emitters

Absorbed doses were calculated or taken from the literature for various compounds of 11C, 13N, and 15O, and compared to those of presently gamma-ray-emitting nuclear medicine radiopharmaceuticals. As a rule of thumb, the doses per millicurie of the injectable positron-emitting compounds are of the same order of magnitude as the dose per millicurie of 99mTc compounds. The absorbed doses from the injectable positron emitters are nearly one or more orders of magnitude lower on a per millicurie basis than those from the other injectable gamma emitters that were investigated.