Cardiac imaging with tantalum-178.
Tantalum-178 is a potential tracer for the first transit studies of the heart. It has a short physical half-life (9.3 minutes) and is obtained as a generator product from its long-lived (21.3 days) parent, tungsten-178. First transit studies were performed in the monkey and dog following the intravenous injection of 20 mCi (740 MBq) of tantalum-178. Imaging was performed with a large field of view single crystal camera and a multicrystal camera. Pulmonary dilution curves were derived for the analysis of left-to-right intracardiac shunting and high temporal resolution studies were obtained to assess left ventricular function and to measure left ventricular ejection fraction. The short physical half-life of tantalum-178 permits fraction. The short physical half-life of tantalum-178 permits multiple sequential studies with reduced patient radiation dose compared to the current radionuclide of choice, technetium-99m.
D000790:Angiocardiography; D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D000882:Haplorhini; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006343:Heart Septal Defects / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D011868:Radioisotopes; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013635:Tantalum; D013667:Technetium
D011868:Radioisotopes; D013635:Tantalum; D013667:Technetium