Feasibility of the $\beta^-$ Radio-Guided Surgery with a Variety of Radio-Nuclides of Interest to Nuclear Medicine

TL;DR

This study evaluates the potential of a beta-minus radio-guided surgery probe with various radio-nuclides, assessing its efficiency and feasibility for different isotopes used in nuclear medicine through laboratory tests and simulations.

Contribution

It extends the applicability of the beta-minus radio-guided surgery probe to multiple radio-nuclides beyond $^{90}$Y, providing a feasibility analysis for their use with the current detector design.

Findings

Probe effectively detects $^{31}$Si, $^{32}$P, $^{97}$Zr, and $^{188}$Re with current settings.

Tuning is required for $^{83}$Br, $^{133}$I, and $^{153}$Sm to achieve effective detection.

$^{18}$F, $^{67}$Cu, $^{131}$I, and $^{177}$Lu are not suitable with the current probe design.

Abstract

The $\beta^-$ based radio-guided surgery overcomes the corresponding $\gamma$ technique in case the background from healthy tissues is relevant. It can be used only in case a radio-tracer marked with $^{90}$Y is available since the current probe prototype was optimized for the emission spectrum of this radio-nuclide. Here we study, with a set of laboratory tests and simulations, the prototype capability in case a different radio-nuclide is chosen among those used in nuclear medicine. As a result we estimate the probe efficiency on electrons and photons as a function of energy and we evaluate the feasibility of a radio-guided surgery exploiting the selected radio-nuclides. We conclude that requiring a 0.1~ml residue to be detected within 1~s by administering 3~MBq/Kg of radio-isotope, the current probe prototype would yield a significant signal in a vast range of values of SUV and TNR in case $^{31}$Si,$^{32}$P, $^{97}$Zr, and $^{188}$Re are used. Conversely, a tuning of the detector would be needed to efficiency use $^{83}$Br, $^{133}$I, and $^{153}$Sm, although they could already be used in case of high SUV or TNR values. Finally, $^{18}$F,$^{67}$Cu, $^{131}$I, and $^{177}$Lu are not useable for radio-guided surgery with the current probe design.