Comparison of Gallium-68 and Fluorine-18 imaging characteristics in positron emission tomography

This review article compares PET imaging performance with Gallium-68 (68Ga) and Fluorine-18 (18F). The literature on this topic is scarce; hence in order to complete the published data, Monte Carlo calculations, as well as phantom measurements, were carried out. The qualitative and quantitative differences between 68Ga and 18F imaging were evaluated in terms of spatial resolution, sensitivity, contrast and activity recovery coefficients for both human PET systems and small animal PET scanners. The clinical and pre-clinical implications of these differences are discussed.

► The Gallium 68 and the Fluorine18 PET image characteristics are compared.
► Large differences in PET image spatial resolution and absolute trace quantification accuracy were found between tracers.
► The clinical and pre-clinical implications of these differences are discussed.