TABLE 2.

Typical Calibration Procedure and Recommended Additions

StepProcedure
1Assay syringe with 18F. Record activity and time.
2Inject and mix 18F in water-filled 20-cm-diameter cylinder.
3Reassay syringe for residual activity. Record activity and time.
4Scan phantom, reconstruct image, and measure average value per milliliter from large ROI.
5Compute new scanner calibration factor (g in Eq. 3) as ratio of ROI average to net concentration in phantom after decay correction.
6*Compare new scanner calibration factor with average of prior scanner calibration factors.
7*If there is more than a small difference (e.g., 5%), check all measurement and data entry steps, or repeat steps 1–6.
8Install calculated scale factor as new scanner calibration for subsequent patient scans.
9*Scan a known test object (e.g., 68Ge/68Ga phantom) using standard clinical protocol and measure kBq/mL on reconstructed image.
10*If there is more than a small difference in measured activity from previous images of test object (e.g., 5%), check all measurement and data entry steps, or repeat steps 1–8.
  • * Recommended additions to typical calibration procedures.