Low radiation iridium 191m radionuclide angiography: detection and quantitation of left-to-right shunts in infants.
Radionuclide angiography using iridium 191m was carried out in 34 premature infants and young children for detection and quantitation of left-to-right shunts. Ir-191m has a physical half-life of 4.96 seconds and can be imaged with conventional gamma scintillation cameras. The whole body radiation absorbed dose from Ir-191m is 3.5 mrad/mCi, which is about 40 times less radiation than with technetium 99m. Other advantages of Ir-191m include high photon flux for improved imaging and the possibility of multiple studies within a short period of time without background. Nine patients had simultaneous measurement of pulmonary-to-systemic flow ratio by Ir-191m angiography and oxymetry during cardiac catheterization; the correlation coefficient was 0.90. Radionuclide angiography with Ir-191m is a method with virtually no risk, rapid, accurate, and reproducible, and is ideally suited for the evaluation of left-to-right shunts in small children.
D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007495:Iridium; D007554:Isotopes; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging
D007554:Isotopes; D007495:Iridium