Can Spatiotemporal Fluoride (F-18(-)) Uptake be Used to Assess Bone Formation in the Tibia? A Longitudinal Study Using PET/CT

摘要

Background When a bone is broken for any reason, it is important for the orthopaedic surgeon to know how bone healing is progressing. There has been resurgence in the use of the fluoride (F-18(-)) ion to evaluate various bone conditions. This has been made possible by availability of positron emission tomography (PET)/CT hybrid scanners together with cyclotrons. Absorbed on the bone surface from blood flow, F-18(-) attaches to the osteoblasts in cancellous bone and acts as a pharmacokinetic agent, which reflects the local physiologic activity of bone. This is important because it shows bone formation indicating that the bone is healing or no bone formation indicating no healing. As F-18(-) is extracted from blood in proportion to blood flow and bone formation, it thus enables determination of bone healing progress.