Estimation of absorbed doses in humans due to intravenous administration of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose in PET studies.

Radiation absorbed doses due to intravenous administration of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose in positron emission tomography (PET) studies were estimated in normal volunteers. The time-activity curves were obtained for seven human organs (brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, and spleen) by using dynamic PET scans and for bladder content by using a single detector. These time-activity curves were used for the calculation of the cumulative activity in these organs. Absorbed doses were calculated by the MIRD method using the absorbed dose per unit of cumulated activity, "S" value, transformed for the Japanese physique and the organ masses of the Japanese reference man. The bladder wall and the heart were the organs receiving higher doses of 1.2 x 10(-1) and 4.5 x 10(-2) mGy/MBq, respectively. The brain received a dose of 2.9 x 10(-2) mGy/MBq, and other organs received doses between 1.0 x 10(-2) and 3.0 x 10(-2) mGy/MBq. The effective dose equivalent was estimated to be 2.4 x 10(-2) mSv/MBq. These results were comparable to values of absorbed doses reported by other authors on the radiation dosimetry of this radiopharmaceutical.