F-18 FDG
Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose — the dominant PET oncology tracer. Glucose analog labeled with the F-18 positron emitter. Half-life ~110 minutes. Taken up by metabolically active cells (cancer, inflammation, brain) and trapped intracellularly after phosphorylation.
Why it matters to buyers: FDG delivery timing is the gating factor for PET throughput. On-site cyclotron or commercial radiopharmacy contract; both have logistical constraints. Decay during delivery forces protocol pacing.
Why it matters to engineers: Uptake time ~60 min post-injection — uptake rooms gate real-world patient flow more often than the scanner does. Pediatric and dose-sensitive populations use weight-based dose reduction; total-body PET (uEXPLORER) reshapes dose / time trade-offs at the physics level.