Gallium-68 in Medical Imaging

Over the past several years, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging agents labeled with (68)Gallium (Ga-68) have undergone a significant increase in clinical utilization. Ga-68 is conveniently produced from a germanium-68/gallium-68 (Ge-68/Ga-68) generator. Because of the compact size and ease of use of the generator, Ga-68 labeled compounds may be more cost-effective than PET radioisotopes that are cyclotron-produced. The convenient half-life of Ga-68 (T-1/2 = 68 min) provides sufficient radioactivity for various PET imaging applications, while delivering acceptable radiation doses to patients. This chapter summarizes the emerging clinical utilization of Ga-68-based radiotracers in medical imaging.