Liver scintigraphy in ponies

Area of Science:

• Nuclear medicine
• Veterinary radiology
• Radiopharmaceutical chemistry

Background:

• Technetium 99m (99mTc) labeled colloids are standard for liver scintigraphy in many species.
• However, ponies exhibit significant lung uptake of these colloids, limiting diagnostic accuracy.
• Novel radiopharmaceuticals are needed for effective equine liver imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prepare and evaluate six novel ethylenediamine-N,N'-bis(alpha-2-hydroxy phenyl) acetic acid derivatives labeled with technetium 99m.
• To assess their scintigraphic imaging qualities for liver structures in ponies.
• To compare their efficacy with conventional 99mTc-labeled colloids in equine subjects.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of six ethylenediamine-N,N'-bis(alpha-2-hydroxy phenyl) acetic acid derivatives.
• Labeling of these derivatives with technetium 99m (99mTc).
• Evaluation of imaging qualities through scintigraphy in ponies, utilizing various scan views (dorsal, left lateral, right lateral, oblique).

Main Results:

• All six 99mTc-labeled agents produced good scintigraphic images of specific liver structures in ponies.
• Detailed imaging of liver lobes (left lateral, right lateral, quadrate) was achieved with different scan projections.
• In contrast, conventional 99mTc-labeled colloids resulted in substantial lung uptake in ponies.

Conclusions:

• The developed 99mTc-labeled ethylenediamine derivatives demonstrate excellent potential for equine liver scintigraphy.
• These agents provide superior visualization of liver anatomy compared to standard colloids in ponies.
• They represent a valuable advancement for diagnostic imaging in equine hepatobiliary diseases.