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Use of ^135mBa and ¹³¹Ba as Bone-Scanning Agents

Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut

Correspondence: For reprints contact: Richard P. Spencer, Section of Nuclear Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, Conn. 06510.

ABSTRACT

Initial experiences with barium radionuclides as bone-scanning agents are described. Both ¹³¹Ba and ^135mBa have significant advantages over ⁸⁵Sr (but all are partially excreted into the gastrointestinal canal). Barium-135m has a short half-life (1.2 days) and monoenergetic emission (268 keV). These properties make it a nearly ideal scanning agent, despite the high internal conversion. Gamma camera and rectilinear scans of high quality can be obtained. Barium-131 (11.6 day half-life) has three principal gamma emissions which can be detected by rectilinear scanners. The two lower emissions are also readily detected by gamma-ray cameras. Using enriched ¹³⁰Ba as the precursor for irradiation, high-specific activity ¹³¹Ba can be produced. The economics of production suggest that both ^135mBa and ¹³¹Ba can be competitive with ⁸⁵Sr.