Comparison of accuracy in calculation of absorbed dose to patients following bone scan with 99mTc-marked diphosphonates by two different background correction methods

To improve the accuracy of the activity quantification and the image quality in scintigraphy, scatter correction is a vital procedure. The aim of this study is to compare the accuracy in calculation of absorbed dose to patients following bone scan with 99mTc-marked diphosphonates (99mTc-MDP) by two different methods of background correction in conjugate view method. This study involved 22 patients referring to the Nuclear Medicine Center of Shahid Chamran Hospital, Isfahan, Iran. After the injection of 99mTc-MDP, whole-body images from patients were acquired at 10, 60, 90, and 180 min. Organ activities were calculated using the conjugate view method by Buijs and conventional background correction. Finally, the absorbed dose was calculated using the Medical Internal Radiation Dosimetry (MIRD) technique. The results of this study showed that the absorbed dose per unit of injected activity (rad/mCi) ± standard deviation for pelvis bone, bladder, and kidneys by Buijs method was 0.19 ± 0.05, 0.08 ± 0.01, and 0.03 ± 0.01 and by conventional method was 0.13 ± 0.04, 0.08 ± 0.01, and 0.024 ± 0.01, respectively. This showed that Buijs background correction method had a high accuracy compared to conventional method for the estimated absorbed dose of bone and kidneys whereas, for the bladder, its accuracy was low