# Rubidium Rb-82 chloride

Source: https://nuclide.cc/drugs/rb-82-chloride/  
Nuclide record `rb-82-chloride` (Agent). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from Nuclide (nuclide.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A generator-produced radioactive form of the metal rubidium, chemically similar to potassium, given as a fast intravenous infusion; because it decays away in about a minute and a half it can be produced on site without a cyclotron, letting a PET scan of heart blood flow be done in around half an hour.

## Summary

Rubidium Rb-82 chloride, marketed via the CardioGen-82 strontium-82/rubidium-82 generator, is a PET myocardial perfusion agent behaving like a potassium analogue with a first-pass extraction fraction of about 65% (and flow-dependent roll-off similar to or greater than the Tc-99m SPECT agents). Its ultra-short 75-second half-life is both its main practical advantage, no cyclotron is required since the generator is eluted with saline immediately before each dose, and its main constraint: imaging must begin within 60-130 seconds of infusion and the generator itself is regulated for strontium breakthrough.

The FDA label indicates it for PET imaging of the myocardium under rest or pharmacologic stress to evaluate regional myocardial perfusion in adults with suspected or existing coronary artery disease. Recommended adult dosing (Model 510 infusion system) is 1,480 MBq (40 mCi) per rest or stress component, with a range of 1,110-2,220 MBq, infused intravenously at 50 mL/min; a newer Model 1700 system doses by body weight (10-30 MBq/kg).

Rb-82 PET's speed (a full rest/stress study in about 30 minutes) and generator-based, cyclotron-free production have made it the most widely used PET perfusion tracer in the US for routine CAD work-up, and it is also used, alongside or instead of N-13 ammonia, as the resting perfusion half of the cardiac sarcoidosis PET protocol.

## Fields

- Kind: Agent
- Last checked: 2026-09-22
- Also known as: Rb-82; 82Rb
- Tags: PET; myocardial perfusion; generator
- Brand: CardioGen-82
- Modality: PET tracer
- Mechanism: Rb+ is a potassium analogue taken up by viable myocytes through the Na+/K+-ATPase pump, similarly to thallium, with a first-pass myocardial extraction fraction of about 65% at rest that falls further at high flow (roughly 40-70% across the physiological range, per comparative reviews), a bigger flow-dependent roll-off than the newer tracer flurpiridaz. Its 75-second physical half-life means it is produced on demand from a strontium-82/rubidium-82 generator immediately before each rest and stress dose, with no cyclotron needed on site, but also that imaging must start within roughly a minute of the infusion and the whole rest-stress study can be completed in about 30 minutes.
- Approvals: US 1989: PET imaging of the myocardium under rest or pharmacologic stress to evaluate regional myocardial perfusion in adults with suspected or existing coronary artery disease
- Dosing: Intravenous infusion (generator-eluted, produced immediately before use); 1,480 MBq (40 mCi) per rest or stress component, range 1,110-2,220 MBq, infused at 50 mL/min (Model 510); 10-30 MBq/kg on Model 1700; imaging starts 60-90 seconds after infusion, rest and stress separated by a minimum 10 minutes

## Sources

- FDA label: CardioGen-82 (rubidium Rb 82 generator), 2024 revision: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2024/019414s034lbl.pdf
- EMC SmPC: Cardiogen-82 (Rb-82 extraction fraction 65%): https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/15771/smpc
- ASNC/SNMMI PET nuclear cardiology procedure standard: https://www.asnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/s12350-016-0522-3.pdf

## Connected records

- drugs: [Ammonia N-13](https://nuclide.cc/drugs/n-13-ammonia/), [Flurpiridaz F-18](https://nuclide.cc/drugs/f-18-flurpiridaz/)
- isotopes: [Nitrogen-13](https://nuclide.cc/isotopes/n-13/), [Rubidium-82](https://nuclide.cc/isotopes/rb-82/), [Technetium-99m](https://nuclide.cc/isotopes/tc-99m/)
- indications: [Cardiac sarcoidosis](https://nuclide.cc/indications/cardiac-sarcoidosis/), [Coronary artery disease](https://nuclide.cc/indications/coronary-artery-disease/)

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