Radiances of Cerenkov-Emitting Radionuclides on the In Vivo Imaging System

Abstract

Cerenkov (or Cherenkov) luminescence occurs when charged particles exceed the phase velocity of a given medium. Cerenkov as a modality has gained interest for visualization of numerous radionuclides. However, reported Cerenkov intensities are limited or provided as theoretic fluence estimates. Here, we present the largest experimental dataset of Cerenkov-emitting radionuclides using the in vivo imaging system (IVIS Spectrum). We report Cerenkov radiances for 23 Cerenkov-emitting radionuclides, covering electrons, α-particles, and β-particles purified and in equilibrium where appropriate. Radionuclides measured include ¹¹C, ¹⁸F, ³²P, ⁴⁷Sc, ⁵²Mn, ⁶⁴Cu, ⁶⁷Cu, ⁶⁸Ga, ⁷²As, ⁷⁶Br, ⁸⁶Y, ⁸⁹Zr, ⁹⁰Y, ¹²⁴I, ¹³¹I, ¹³⁴Ce, ¹⁶¹Tb, ¹⁷⁷Lu, ²⁰³Pb, ²¹²Pb, ²²³Ra, ²²⁵Ac, and ²²⁷Th. These radiances allow experimental comparisons of radionuclides in Cerenkov luminescence imaging studies in the visible emission window, alongside minimum detectable activity concentrations. Lastly, these values greatly agree with prior theoretic modeling estimates.