Visualization of renal structure and function with chelated radionuclides.

Abstract

PHYSIOLOGICALLY stable metal chelates are usually excreted by glomerular filtration. We have previously reported that short-lived indium 113m chelated with diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid is potentially useful for studies of kidney, that is, for the measurement of glomerular filtration rate, renogram studies, and kidney scans (8). Subsequently, we developed ytterbium-169-DTPA complex (4) which has a longer half-life and can also be used for renal studies (5). Preliminary studies on the use of these chelates to visualize both renal structure and function with the help of a scintillation camera were reported at the 1968 meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine (9). Recently, Hisada et al. (3) have also used 113,mIn-DTPA complex for similar studies. Other useful chelates include the long-lived 51Cr-DTPA complex (2) and the short-lived 68Ga-EDTA complex (7). Relative whole-body radiation doses were considered for the use of the chelates labeled with 68Ga, 113mIn, 51Cr, and 169Yb in normal subjects as wel...