Development of a classifier for [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose extravasation severity using semi-quantitative readings from topically applied detectors.

Background: Radiotracer extravasations, caused largely by faulty tracer injections, can occur in up to 23% of F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT scans and negatively impact radiological review and tracer quantification. Conventional radiological assessment of extravasation severity on PET has limited performance (e.g.

Practical Tools for Patient-specific Characterization and Dosimetry of Radiopharmaceutical Extravasation.

Extravasation during radiopharmaceutical injection may occur with a frequency of more than 10%. In these cases, radioactivity remains within tissue and deposits unintended radiation dose. Characterization of extravasations is a necessary step in accurate dosimetry, but a lack of free and publicly available tools hampers routine standardized analysis.

The Scientific and Clinical Case for Reviewing Diagnostic Radiopharmaceutical Extravasation Long-Standing Assumptions.

The patient benefit from a diagnostic nuclear medicine procedure far outweighs the associated radiation risk. This benefit/risk ratio assumes a properly administered radiopharmaceutical. However, a significant diagnostic radiopharmaceutical extravasation can confound the procedure in many ways.

Patient-specific Extravasation Dosimetry Using Uptake Probe Measurements.

Extravasation is a common problem in radiopharmaceutical administration and can result in significant radiation dose to underlying tissue and skin. The resulting radiation effects are rarely studied and should be more fully evaluated to guide patient care and meet regulatory obligations. The purpose of this work was to show that a dedicated radiopharmaceutical injection monitoring system can help clinicians characterize extravasations for calculating tissue and skin doses.