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An Assessment of Factors Which Influence the Effectiveness of the Modified In Vivo Technetium-99m-Erythrocyte Labeling Technique in Clinical Use

Department of Nuclear Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Correspondence: For reprints contact: Dr Michael J. Kelly, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Commercial Rd., Melbourne, 3181, Victoria, Australia.

ABSTRACT

This study assessed factors which may contribute to suboptimal image quality when the modified in vivo erythrocyte labeling technique is used with standard clinical ^99mTc activities. For each assessment duplicate or triplicate blood specimens were withdrawn from 10 patients, into syringes containing 700–900 MBq ^99mTc as pertechnetate. After incubation the percent of ^99mTc which was not bound to erythrocytes at blood re-injection time (%Unbound ^99mTc), was measured and compared when one of four factors was varied. The most significant results, in descending order of measured effect were:Our data suggest that the requirements for optimal erythrocyte labeling with standard clinical ^99mTc activities are: (A) Erythrocyte tinning time between 10 and 30 mm; (B) blood volume 3 ml; (C) blood incubation time 20 min; and (D) Generator in growth time 24 hr.