Answer to Question #1498 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Q

How can we find out the new radiopharmaceutical dose rate in an animal study?

A

I think what you are asking is how we can determine human radiation dose estimates for new pharmaceuticals based on biokinetic data gathered in animal studies. If so, the basic procedure is to choose an animal species (a number of considerations may come in here, including suitability of the species in studying the drug of interest, cost, care issues, and others), then administer the activity, monitor the results, extrapolate the results to humans, perform a kinetic analysis, and finally calculate human radiation dose estimates using standard models. Within each of these items, there are a number of technical issues that must be considered and evaluated. It would not be possible in the space here to give a complete overview of all of these potential factors and how to resolve them. If you are needing to actually perform such a study and are unfamiliar with these issues, you might want to hire a consultant to ensure that all of the technical issues are handled well and that all details are covered. If your interest is only academic, I could send you a short technical paper that gives a few more details than the sentence above, or perhaps the above is sufficient. If you want more information please contact our website editor. Please refer to this question. Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP