Systems, methods and apparatus for preparation, delivery and monitoring of radioisotopes in positron emission tomography

A portable medical radiopharmaceutical administration system comprising:

• a dispensing station to receive a liquid radiopharmaceutical in quantities suitable for multiple doses of the radiopharmaceutical, and to dispense the radiopharmaceutical, the dispensing station having a pump system and a liquid transfer path that is in fluid communication with the liquid radiopharmaceutical;
• an ion chamber to measure radioactivity, the ion chamber having an ion chamber inlet, through which the liquid entering the ion chamber, and a separate ion chamber outlet, from which the liquid exits the ion chamber;
• a control system operably coupled to the dispensing station, the pump system to withdraw an individual dose from the multiple doses of the liquid radiopharmaceutical and move the individual dose along the liquid transfer path through the ion chamber inlet to the ion chamber, the ion chamber to measure a radioactivity of the individual dose in the ion chamber, the pump system to discharge the individual dose through the ion chamber outlet;
• a radioactivity shield that surrounds portions of the medical radiopharmaceutical administration system that are radioactive;
• and
• wheels mounted to the shield.

A medical radiopharmaceutical administration system comprising:

• a local area network operably coupled to a plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems;
• a dispensing station to receive a nitrogen-13 ammonia in quantities suitable for multiple doses of the nitrogen-13 ammonia, and to dispense the nitrogen-13 ammonia to the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems, the dispensing station being operably coupled to the local area network;
• a quality control unit to monitor the amount of radiochemical and the radionuclic purity of the nitrogen-13 ammonia that is dispensed by the dispensing station, the quality control unit being operably coupled to the local area network to convey quality information over the local area network;
• a control system operably coupled to the local area network, to communicate with the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems, the dispensing station, and the quality control unit;
• and
• a plurality of delivery lines interconnected between the dispensing station and the plurality of PET imaging systems, the control system controlling dispensing of the individual doses over the delivery lines to the plurality of PET imaging systems.

A medical radiopharmaceutical administration system comprising:

• a local area network operably coupled to a plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems;
• a dispensing station to receive liquid fluorodeoxyglucose in quantities suitable for multiple doses of the liquid fluorodeoxyglucose, and to dispense the fluorodeoxyglucose to the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems, the dispensing station being operably coupled to the local area network to send over the local area network information regarding the doses dispensed to the plurality of PET imaging systems;
• a control system operably coupled to the local area network, to receive status information from, and send commands to, the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems, the dispensing station, and the quality control unit;
• and
• a plurality of delivery lines interconnected between the dispensing station and the plurality of PET imaging systems, the control system controlling dispensing of the individual doses over the delivery lines to the plurality of PET imaging systems.

A medical radiopharmaceutical administration system comprising:

• a local area network operably coupled to a plurality of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging systems;
• a dispensing station to receive a liquid radiotracer in quantities suitable for multiple doses of a radiopharmaceutical, and to dispense the radiopharmaceutical to the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems, the dispensing station being operably coupled to the local area network to send over the local area network information regarding the doses dispensed to the plurality of PET imaging systems;
• a quality control unit to monitor the amount of radio and the radionuclic purity of the radiopharmaceutical that is dispensed by the dispensing station, the quality control unit being operably coupled to the local area network and operably coupled to the dispensing station;
• a control system operably coupled to the local area network, to receive status information from, and send commands to, the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems, the dispensing station, and the quality control unit;
• and
• a plurality of delivery lines interconnected between the dispensing station and the plurality of PET imaging systems, the control system controlling dispensing of the individual doses over the delivery lines to the plurality of PET imaging systems.

A radiopharmaceutical administration system comprising:

• a local area network operably coupled to a plurality of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging systems;
• a dispensing station to receive a liquid radiopharmaceutical in quantities suitable for multiple doses of the radiopharmaceutical, and to dispense the radiopharmaceutical to the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems, the dispensing station being operably coupled to the local area network to send over the local area network information regarding the doses dispensed to the plurality of PET imaging systems;
• a quality control unit, to monitor the amount of radiochemical and the radionuclic purity of the radiopharmaceutical that is dispensed by the dispensing station, the quality control unit being operably coupled to the local area network to send quality information over the local area network;
• a control system operably coupled to the local area network, to receive status information from, and send commands to, the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems, the dispensing station, and the quality control unit;
• and
• a plurality of delivery lines interconnected between the dispensing station and the plurality of PET imaging systems, the control system controlling dispensing of the individual doses over the delivery lines to the plurality of PET imaging systems;
• wherein each of the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems further comprises:
• a computer system having a graphical user interface operably coupled to the local area network;
• an injector system to extract at least one individual dose from the liquid radiopharmaceutical and to inject the at least one individual dose into the living subject, the injector system being operably coupled to the local area network;
• and
• a physiologic monitoring system operably coupled to the injector system and operably coupled to the living subject.

A medical radiopharmaceutical administration system comprising:

• a local area network operably coupled to a plurality of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging systems;
• a dispensing station to receive a liquid radiopharmaceutical in quantities suitable for multiple doses of the radiopharmaceutical, and to dispense the radiopharmaceutical to the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems, the dispensing station being operably coupled to the local area network to send over the local area network information regarding the doses dispensed to the plurality of Pet imaging systems;
• a quality control unit, to monitor the amount of radiochemical and the radionuclic purity of the radiopharmaceutical that is dispensed by the dispensing station, the quality control unit being operably coupled to the local area network and operably coupled to the dispensing station;
• a control system operably coupled to the local area network, to receive status information from, and send commands to, the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems, the dispensing station, and the quality control unit;
• and
• a plurality of delivery lines interconnected between the dispensing station and the plurality of PET imaging systems, the control system controlling dispensing of the individual doses over the delivery lines to the plurality of PET imaging systems;
• wherein each of the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems further comprises:
• a computer system having a graphical user interface operably coupled to the local area network;
• an injector system to extract at least one individual dose from the liquid radiopharmaceutical and to inject the at least one individual dose into the patient, the injector system being operably coupled to the local area network;
• and
• a physiologic monitoring system operably coupled to the injector system and operably coupled to the patient.

A system comprising:

• a local area network operably coupled to a plurality of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging systems;
• apparatus operable to dispense a radiopharmaceutical to the plurality of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging systems, the apparatus operable to dispense being operably coupled to the local area network to send over the local area network information regarding the doses dispensed to the plurality of PET imaging systems;
• apparatus operable to monitor the quality of the radiopharmaceutical that is dispensed by the apparatus operable to dispense, the apparatus operable to monitor being operably coupled to the local area network and operably coupled to the apparatus operable to dispense;
• apparatus operable to receive status information from the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems, the apparatus operable to dispense, and the apparatus operable to monitor, the apparatus operable to receive being operably coupled to the local area network;
• apparatus operable to send commands to the plurality of positron emission tomography imaging systems, the apparatus operable to dispense and the apparatus operable to monitor, the apparatus operable to send being operably coupled to the local area network;
• and
• a plurality of delivery lines interconnected between the dispensing station and the plurality of PET imaging systems, the apparatus operable to the individual doses over the delivery lines to the plurality of PET imaging systems.

An apparatus comprising:

• a computer system having a graphical user interface;
• a dispensing station operable to extract individual doses from a multidose vial of a radiopharmaceutical and dispense the individual doses to a plurality of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging systems;
• an injector operable to inject the individual doses into a patient, the injector system being operably coupled to the computer system;
• and
• a plurality of delivery lines interconnected between the dispensing station and the plurality of PET imaging systems, the computer system controlling dispensing of the individual doses over the delivery lines to the plurality of PET imaging systems.

An imaging system comprising:

• an injector;
• a multi-dose container to hold a multi-dose quantity of liquid radiopharmaceutical;
• a dispensing station operable to extract individual doses of a radiopharmaceutical from the multi-dose container and distribute each individual dose to the injector and operably coupled to an imaging system, the dispensing station being mounted on wheels to be movable to and from the imaging system;
• an ion chamber to measure radioactivity therein, the ion chamber fluidly coupled to the dispensing station;
• a physiologic monitor operably coupled to the injector;
• an imaging scanner operably coupled to the physiologic monitor and the injector;
• and
• a computer system provided on the wheels, the computer system configured to calculate a target dosage for an individual dose based on at least one of a half-life of the pharmaceutical and a weight of the living subject, the computer system configured to control the dispensing station to withdraw an individual target dosage from the multi-dose container based on the target dosage and move the individual target dosage to the ion chamber, the ion chamber to measure a radioactivity of the individual target dosage in the ion chamber, the computer system configured to compare a measurement from the ion chamber to the target dosage to determine whether the individual target dosage in the ion chamber corresponds to the target dosage, the computer system configured to control the dispensing station to discharge the individual target dosage as an individual dose when the measurement from the ion chamber corresponds to the target dosage.

A portable medical radiopharmaceutical administration system comprising:

• a moveable structure mounted on wheels to be moveable to and from an imaging system, the moveable structure including radioactivity shielding;
• a multi-dose container to hold a multi-dose quantity of liquid radiopharmaceutical;
• a dispensing station to receive the multi-dose container, the dispensing station having a pump system;
• an ion chamber to measure radioactivity therein, the ion chamber being fluidly coupled to the multi-dose container, wherein the multi-dose container, the dispensing station, and the ion chamber are enclosed within the radioactivity shielding while moved on the moveable structure to and from the imaging system;
• and
• a computer system provided on the moveable structure, the computer system configured to calculate a target dosage for an individual dose based on at least one of a half-life of the pharmaceutical and a weight of the living subject, the computer system configured to control the pump system to withdraw an individual target dosage from the multi-dose container based on the target dosage and move the individual target dosage to the ion chamber, the ion chamber to measure a radioactivity of the individual target dosage in the ion chamber, the computer system configured to compare a measurement from the ion chamber to the target dosage to determine whether the individual target dosage in the ion chamber corresponds to the target dosage, the computer system configured to control the pump system to discharge the individual target dosage as an individual dose when the measurement from the ion chamber corresponds to the target dosage.