2-Deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-galactose: A new probe for the evaluation of liver function by PET, 2

2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-galactose (18FDGal) is a new probe for the evaluation of galactose metabolism in the liver. We firstly examined its clinical usefulness in 5 normal volunteers. After 2 mCi 18FDGal injection, serial PET scans were performed every 5 min. The radioactivity in the liver increased with time and reached a plateau at 30 - 40 min after injection. The liver uptake at 50 min was very high, 26.4 expressed by % dose/ml x 10-3, and high quality images were obtained. Radiation doses calculated by liver radioactivity based on the MIRD schema were respectively 530 and 50 mrad/mCi for the liver and total body. These values were consistent with our previous calculation that were obtained on the basis of animal biodistribution. (author)