Development and clinical performance of an automated, portable tungsten-178/tantalum-178 generator.

An automated, portable 178W/178Ta generator system has been developed for use in first-pass radionuclide angiography studies with the multiwire gamma camera. Eluant (0.03N HCI, 0.1% H2O2) and buffer (0.13 N Na2HPO4) are delivered with a dual channel peristaltic pump. The generator column is a borosilicate glass tube with 30 microns fused glass frit containing 0.75 ml AG1X8 anion exchange resin. This column and associated plumbing are assembled, integrally autoclaved, and then connected to sterile eluant and buffer containers. Automatic push-button elution directly into an injection syringe is provided. Three such generators have been employed in the study of 78 patients in the catheterization laboratory utilizing a mobile, multiwire gamma camera. Over a 3-mo period, 301 sterile pyrogen-free doses ranging from 15 to 99.5 mCi were supplied with a mean breakthrough level of 2.1 +/- 3.6 microCi. This automated, portable, high-yield 178W/178Ta generator represents a major advancement that will significantly facilitate first-pass radionuclide angiography with 178Ta and the multiwire gamma camera.