Hepatobiliary imaging in nuclear medicine

Hepatobiliary imaging in nuclear medicine can be accomplished with multiple different radiotracers to help evaluate the liver, gallbladder and the biliary ducts. The choice of tracer depends on the clinical question.

Common tracers include:

• Tc-99m IDA (iminodiacetic acid) analogs: most commonly used tracer; used for evaluation of the biliary system (e.g. HIDA scan)
• Tc-99m sulfur colloid
• Tc-99m RBC scan: older technique for evaluation of liver hemangiomas
• Ga-67 and Xe-133 can also be used in some situations