Quantitative evaluation of four 99Tcm colloids for bone marrow scintigraphy using single photon emission computed tomography

Colloids used for bone marrow scintigraphy are also taken up in the liver and spleen. The liver activity in particular hampers interpretation of the study. In this study, four small-sized commercial colloids labelled with 99Tcm were compared for bone marrow uptake relative to the liver, spleen and background activity. Three human albumin colloids (Microlite, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co; Solco Nanocoll, Solco Nuclear; TCK-9, International CIS) and one antimony sulphide colloid (TechneScan Sb2S3, Mallinckrodt Diagnostics) were compared. The study was performed in patients routinely referred for liver/spleen scintigraphy who had a normal result. Each examination was carried out using single photon emission computed tomography. After correction for attenuation and scattering of photons, the activity of the bone marrow of the lumbar spine was related to the liver, spleen and background activity. The bone marrow/liver activity quotient of Solco Nanocoll and TCK-9 was almost twice the value for Microlite and TechneScan Sb2S3. The bone marrow/spleen quotient was almost four times higher and the bone marrow/background quotient almost twice as high for Solco Nanocoll as for the other three colloids, between which there were no significant differences.