Ventilation imaging in the horse with 99mtechnetium‐DTPA radioaerosol

Abstract

This study describes the development of a radioaerosol technique for horses using ^99mtechnetium-DTPA (diethylene-triaminepentacetate). In 24 normal, adult horses, very satisfactory ventilation images were obtained with the technique. Four-minute administrations of the aerosol resulted in a mean uptake of radioactivity in the lung fields of 3.02 mCi, with mean maximum counts (±sd) of 159,800± 75,000 per camera field. The mean clearance half-time for the ^99mtechnetium-DTPA from the lung fields was 55.6 ± 14.2 mins which is very similar to figures obtained for normal human and dog lungs. The results of this study suggest that ventilation imaging with ^99mtechnetium-DTPA is a clinically practical method of obtaining regional information on ventilation function in the horse.