Nuclear Medicine & Radiation Therapy

¹⁸F Sodium Fluoride PET Bone Scan: Initial Experience

Abstract

Geoff Currie, John Barlow, Elizabeth Brettschneider and Michael Crook

A number of ⁹⁹Mo shortages in Australia in 2018 and 2019 drove lobbying for substitution of some PET procedures as equivalent for the same Medicare rebate/reimbursement approved for general nuclear medicine. Approval of ¹⁸F NaF bone PET as a substitute for bone scans in all pathologies had the largest impact with respect to patient numbers and relieving ^99mTc utilisation. This review provides a case-based insight into the initial experience of using ¹⁸F NaF PET bone scanning as a substitute for ^99mTc based bone scanning on a gamma camera; highlighting application in a variety of pathologies.