Measurements of the distribution of technetium-99m sulfur colloid and technetium-99m HEDP in normal humans

Technetium-99m sulfur colloid and technetium-99m hydroxyethylidene diphosphonate (HEDP) are two radiopharmaceuticals that have been widely used in nuclear medicine. Radiation dose estimates for both materials have been published in the literature and are found in the package inserts of the commercial kits. However, these estimates were made without the benefit of quantitative human organ uptake data. Estimates of absorbed radiation dose to the kidneys differ by nearly a factor of 6 between the two calculations for HEDP. The results of this study are in agreement with the lower previous estimate. Other than that one exception, agreement of the previous estimates with the measurements reported here is surprisingly good.