Technegas is an ultrafine aerosolized dispersion of Tc-99m labeled carbon which is one of several agents used during the ventilation phase of a ventilation/perfusion lung scan (V/Q scan). It is one of the technetium agents used in nuclear medicine imaging.
Characteristics
- photon energy: 140 KeV
- physical half-life: 6 hours
- biological half-life: 135 hours
- normal distribution: lungs
- pharmacokinetics:
- aerosol deposited in bronchoalveolar spaces
- excretion: no excretion
- target organ: lungs
Use
Patients inhale the Technegas via tubing and a mouthpiece, with particles lodging within the peripheral lungs. Patients are imaged on the gamma camera to create a 3D (SPECT) or 2D (planar) ventilation map of the lungs. The ventilation component of the VQ scan is performed before the perfusion phase.
Technegas has been reported to have better penetration of the peripheral lungs and less clumping of tracer in the central airways when compared to its counterpart, aerosolized Tc-99m DTPA1. Technegas will remain lodged in the lungs as the isotope decays, with no absorption via the capillary beds or renal excretion.
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