Molecular imaging in China: looking back and forward

The radiopharmaceuticals used today in China include: ^sup 99m^Tc-ethylene dicysteine (^sup 99m^Tc-ED), ^sup 99m^Tc-mercaptoacetyltriglycine, and ^sup 99m^Tc-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (^sup 99m^Tc-DTPA) for the kidneys; ^sup 99m^Tc-macroaggregated albumin and ^sup 99m^Tc-DTPA for lung imaging; ^sup 99m^Tc, 131I, and ^sup 99m^Tc-sestamibi for thyroid studies; ^sup 99m^Tc-methylene diphosphonate and ^sup 99m^Tc-diethyl iminodiacetic acid for bone studies; ^sup 99m^Tc-sestamibi, ^sup 99m^Tc-tetrofosmin, and ^sup 201^TI for myocardial perfusion imaging; and ^sup 18^F-FDG for myocardial metabolism imaging. ^sup 18^F-FDG is also used with PET/CT for tumor imaging, and ^sup 99m^Tc-sestamibi and 67Ga are used for this purpose with SPECT. Nuclear cardiology in China has grown rapidly in the last few years, with about 200 hospitals carrying out nuclear medicine studies in heart diseases, including myocardial perfusion imaging in the diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease, myocardial metabolism imaging in the assessment of myocardial viability, ventilation/perfusion imaging for assessment of pulmonary embolism, and evaluation of renal function in renovascular hypertension.