Digital whole body scintigraphy for measuring organ-specific iron utilization and turnover

Using Fe-59, blood sampling and external counting do not provide sufficient information concerning the distribution of the erythropoietic marrow. Whole body scanning may overcome this disadvantage, but this technique describes only qualitatively the amount of uptake of iron in an organ and not the amount of erythropoiesis occurring in it. The present study reports a new method of digital whole body scintigraphy of iron distribution, using a double isotope technique that permits separate registration of iron in the vascular space and extravascular space in the whole body and also in single organs. With this technique sites and rates of effective medullary and extramedullary erythropoiesis can be clearly evaluated, which is of benefit to differentiate between local marrow destruction after irradiation, generalized osteomyelofibrosis, and aplastic anemia. Furthermore hematological therapeutic events and the reserve of erythropoietic marrow in patients with chemotherapy may be better evaluated than with common techniques. (Author)