Applications of quantitative whole body autoradiographic technique in radiopharmaceutical research

The routine evaluation of radiopharmaceuticals involves dissecting tissue distribution studies (DTDS) and gamma or positron imaging. DTDS have the following disadvantages: since not all tissues can always be sampled, sites of radiopharmaceutical uptake may be missed and because the procedure involves weighing of dissected tissue samples, the spatial resolution of this method is low and determined by the smallest amount that can be weighed accurately. Gamma camera imaging and positron emission tomography though more comprehensive in evaluating the global distribution of a compound, have relative low spatial resolution. Whole body autoradiography of small animals has a much higher spatial resolution as compared to the above and depicts the global distribution of radiopharmaceuticals. A computer-assisted quantification method of WBARG applied to positron, beta, and gamma emitters will complement the method by producing quantitative values comparable to those obtained by dissection and direct tissue counting, with the advantages of depicting the global distribution at high spatial resolution