Currently, there is no accurate, noninvasive clinical imaging method to detect living bacteria in vivo.
Previously, the researchers synthesized a C-11 D-methionine (C-11 D-Met) tracer and showed it can help identify active bacterial infection versus sterile inflammation on PET imaging in mice. At the RSNA, Dr. Ilona Polvoy, a radiology and biomedical imaging fellow, will report on the testing of the tracer in six healthy volunteers and three patients with suspected prosthetic joint infection.
In the study, the researchers estimated the effective dose of the tracer at 0.0040 mSv/MBq, with highest activity in the urinary and hepatobiliary systems. C-11 D-Met cleared slowly from the hepatobiliary pathway and rapidly from the urinary pathway and was well tolerated by both healthy volunteers and infected patients. Importantly, C-11 D-Met is showing promise in identifying areas of suspected chronic infection in patients.
