Objective: To compare the quality of bone scans obtained with 99mTc-ABP, a new radiopharmaceutical, and 99mTc-MDP.
Material and methods: A comparative study within subjects was done in nine healthy volunteers, 5 female and 4 male, aged 23 to 39 years. The dose for both radiopharmaceuticals was 740 MBq; radiopharmacokinetic parameters were determined and a whole body bone scan was taken with a MultiSpect 2 gamma camera two hours post administration with a wash-out period of 72 hours between preparations. The images were independently evaluated by three nuclear medicine physicians by drawing of regions of interest (ROIs) on vertebrae, ribs, femur, sternum, joints and skull. Ratios bone/soft tissue were obtained drawing ROIs on several bones. The kappa test and the Wilcoxon rank test were used for statistical comparisons.
Results: The agreement on the quality of the images with Tc-ABP and Tc-MDP was fair (kappa 0.4). The femur/soft tissue ratio had a normal distribution and the Wilcoxon test showed no statistical difference between preparations.
Conclusions: Even though bone uptake was higher and faster with Tc-ABP, the quality of the scans obtained with either radiopharmaceutical was similar. We recommend the use of Tc-ABP as a routine bone scan agent because of its less radiation exposure to the patient.