• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• 제42권2호
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• pp.112-117
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• 2008

Artifact corrections including normalization and attenuation correction were important for quantitative analysis in Nuclear Medicine Imaging. Normalization is the process of ensuring that all lines of response joining detectors in coincidence have the same effective sensitivity. Failure to account for variations in LOR sensitivity leads to bias and high-frequency artifacts in the reconstructed images. Attenuation correction is the process of the correction of attenuation phenomenon lies in the natural property that photons emitted by the radiopharmaceutical will interact with tissue and other materials as they pass through the body. In this paper, we will review the several approaches for normalization and attenuation correction strategies.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• 제41권2호
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• pp.158-165
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• 2007

Technological advances in molecular imaging made it possible to image synaptic neurotransmitter concentration in living human brain. The dopaminergic system has been most intensively studied because of its importance in neurological as well as psychiatric disorders. This paper provides a brief overview of recent progress in imaging studies of dopamine release induced by pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic stimulations.

• 대한방사성의약품학회지
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• 제1권1호
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• pp.62-73
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• 2015

We developed an evans blue-indocyanine green-$^{99m}Tc$-human serum albumin conjugate for sentinel lymph node mapping and we describe its unique potential usage for clinical implications. This conjugate has combined the strengths of visible blue dye, near-infrared fluorescence and radioisotope into one single conjugate without any additional weakness/disadvantage. All the components of evans blue-indocyanine green-$^{99m}Tc$-human serum albumin are safe and of low cost, and they have already been clinically used. This conjugate was stable in the serum, it showed a long retention time in the lymphatic system and the lymph nodes showed a much higher signal-to-noise ratio after the conjugate was injected intradermally into the paw of mice. Both the single-photon emission computed tomography and near-infrared fluorescent images of the mice were successfully obtained at the same time as the excised sentinel lymph nodes showed blue color. The visual color, near-infrared fluorescence and gamma ray from this agent could be complementary for each other in all the steps of sentinel lymph node sampling: exploring and planning sentinel lymph node before excision with visualization of the exact sentinel lymph node location during an operation. Therefore, the triple modal agent will possibly be very ideal for sentinel lymph node mapping because of the high signal-to-noise ratio for non-invasive imaging and its complementary multimodal nature, easy preparation and safety. It is promising for clinical applications and it may have great advantages over the traditional single modal methods.

• 대한방사성의약품학회지
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• 제2권2호
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• pp.63-68
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• 2016

Peptides have been developed for in vivo imaging probes against to the specific biomarker in the biological process of living systems. Peptide based imaging probes have been applied to identify and detect their active sites using imaging modalities, such as PET, SPECT and MRI. Especially, tumor receptor imaging with the peptides has been widely used to specific tumor detection. This review discusses the targeting peptides that have been successfully characterized for tumor diagnosis by receptor imaging.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• 제42권3호
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• pp.185-191
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• 2008

While indirect targeting strategies using reporter-genes are taking center stage in current molecular imaging research, another vital strategy has long involved direct imaging of specific receptors using radiolabeled ligands. Recently, there is renewal of immense interest in this area with particular attention to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a transmembrane glycoprotein critically involved in the regulation of many cellular functions and malignancies. Recently, two novel classes of EGFR-targeting anticancer drugs have entered clinical trials with great expectations. These are monoclonal antibodies such as cetuximab that target the extracellular domain, and small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as gefitinib (lressa) and erlotinib (Tarceva) that target the catalytic domain of the receptor. However, early results have showed disappointing survival benefits, disclosing a major challenge for this therapeutic strategy; namely, the need to identify tumors that are most likely to respond to the agents. To address this important clinical issue, several noninvasive imaging techniques are under investigation including radiolabeled probes based on small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors, anti-EGFR antibodies, and EGF peptides. This review describes the current status, limitations, and future prospects in the development of radiotracer methods for EGFR imaging.

• 대한방사성의약품학회지
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• 제1권2호
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• pp.130-136
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• 2015

We evaluate the influence of MR contrast agent on positron emission tomography (PET) image using phantom, animal and human studies. Phantom consisted of 15 solutions with the mixture of various concentrations of Gd-based MR contrast agent and fixed activity of [$^{18}F$]FDG. Animal study was performed using rabbit and two kinds of MR contrast agents. After injecting contrast agent, CT or MRI scanning was performed at 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 minutes. PET image was obtained using clinical PET/CT scan, and attenuation correction was performed using the all CT images. The values of HU, PET activity and MRI intensity were obtained from ROIs in each phantom and organ regions. In clinical study, patients (n=20) with breast cancer underwent sequential acquisitions of early [$^{18}F$]FDG PET/CT, MRI and delayed PET/CT. In phantom study, as the concentration increased, the CT attenuation and PET activity also increased. However, there was no relationship between the PET activity and the concentration in the clinical dose range of contrast agent. In animal study, change of PET activity was not significant at all time point of CT scan both MR contrast agents. There was no significant change of HU between early and delayed CT, except for kidney. Early and delayed SUV in tumor and liver showed significant increase and decrease, respectively (P<0.05). Under the condition of most clinical study (< 0.2 mM), MR contrast agent did not influence on PET image quantitation.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.1107-1114
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• 2008

It is important to identify selective ligands for the estrogen receptor subtypes ER$\alpha$ or ER$\beta$ to evaluate them as pharmaceutical targets in breast cancer. To develop ER$\beta$-selective ligands as PET imaging agents, a series of aryl indazole estrogen analogues substituted at the C3 position with fluoroethyl and fluoropropyl groups were synthesized and evaluated for their relative binding affinities and selectivities for ER$\alpha$ vs ER$\beta$. The fluoroethylated indazole estrogen (FEIE, 1i) and fluoropropylated indazole estrogen (FPIE, 1h) showed 41- fold and 17-fold ER$\beta$/ER$\alpha$ selectivity, respectively. However, their binding affinities to ER$\alpha$ and ER$\beta$ were very low.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.149-154
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• 2011

Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry is commonly used to analyze biological molecules such as proteins, peptides and lipids from cells or tissue. Recently MALDI Imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) has been widely applied for the identification of different drugs and their metabolites in tissue. This special feature has made MALDI-MS a common choice for investigation of the molecular histology of pathological samples as well as an important alternative to other conventional imaging methods. The basic advantages of MALDI-IMS are its simple technique, rapid acquisition, increased sensitivity and most prominently, its capacity for direct tissue analysis without prior sample preparation. Moreover, with ms/ms analysis, it is possible to acquire structural information of known or unknown analytes directly from tissue sections. In recent years, MALDI-IMS has made enormous advances in the pathological field. Indeed, it is now possible to identify various changes in biological components due to disease states directly on tissue as well as to analyze the effect of treated drugs. In this review, we focus on the advantages of MALDI tissue imaging over traditional methods and highlight some motivating findings that are significant in pathological studies.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.23-31
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• 2015

Recently, specific antibodies have been used extensively to diagnose and treat various diseases. It is essential to assess the efficacy and specificity of antibodies, especially the in vivo environment. Anti-HER-2/neu mAb was evaluated as a possible transporting agent for radioimmunotherapy. The monoclonal antibody was successfully radio-labeled with $^{131}I$. In vitro binding assays were performed to confirm its targeting ability using another radio-iodine, $^{125}I$. Binding percentage of $^{125}I$ labeled anti-HER-2/neu mAb in HER-2/neu expressing CT-26 cells was found to be 4.5%, whereas the binding percentage of $^{125}I$ labeled anti-HER-2/neu mAb in wild-type CT-26 was only 0.45%. In vivo images were obtained and analyzed through $\gamma$-camera and an optical fluorescent modality, IVIS-200. $\gamma$-camera images showed that $^{131}I$ labeled anti-HER-2/neu mAb accumulated in HER-2/neu CT-26 tumors. Optical imaging based on near infrared fluorescence labeled anti-HER-2/neu mAb showed higher fluorescence intensities in HER-2/neu CT-26 tumors than in wild-type CT-26 tumors. Anti-HER-2/neu mAb was found to specifically bind to its receptor expressing tumor. Our study demonstrates that in vivo imaging technique is a useful method for the evaluation of an antibody's therapeutic and diagnostic potentials.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제12권6호
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• pp.223-229
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• 2012

Clinical and preclinical in vivo immune cell imaging approaches have been used to study immune cell proliferation, apoptosis and interaction at the microscopic (intra-vital imaging) and macroscopic (whole-body imaging) level by use of ex vivo or in vivo labeling method. A series of imaging techniques ranging from non-radiation based techniques such as optical imaging, MRI, and ultrasound to radiation based CT/nuclear imaging can be used for in vivo immune cell tracking. These imaging modalities highlight the intrinsic behavior of different immune cell populations in physiological context. Fluorescent, radioactive or paramagnetic probes can be used in direct labeling protocols to monitor the specific cell population. Reporter genes can also be used for genetic, indirect labeling protocols to track the fate of a given cell subpopulation in vivo. In this review, we summarized several methods dealing with dendritic cell, macrophage, and T lymphocyte specifically labeled for different macroscopic whole-body imaging techniques both for the study of their physiological function and in the context of immunotherapy to exploit imaging-derived information and immune-based treatments.