# Strontium-82/rubidium-82 generators

Source: https://nuclide.cc/technologies/sr82-rb82-generators/  
Nuclide record `sr82-rb82-generators` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from Nuclide (nuclide.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A generator produces a very short-lived radioactive potassium-like tracer on demand at the bedside, allowing a heart PET scan to be finished in minutes without needing an on-site cyclotron.

## Summary

Rubidium-82 chloride is a potassium analogue used for PET myocardial perfusion imaging: its uptake into myocardium is proportional to blood flow via active Na+/K+-ATPase transport, with a single-capillary extraction fraction above 50%. Because 82Rb's physical half-life is only about 75 seconds, it cannot be shipped and must be produced at the point of use from its parent strontium-82 (half-life about 25-26 days), which is itself accelerator-produced by proton bombardment of a rubidium target and shipped to hospitals loaded on a generator column (commonly a hydrous stannic (tin) oxide matrix, 90-150 mCi/3.3-5.6 GBq of 82Sr at calibration). Elution with additive-free 0.9% saline yields rubidium-82 chloride injection; the very short daughter half-life allows the column to be re-eluted roughly every 10 minutes, supporting rapid sequential rest/stress imaging of many patients per day.

Commercial systems (Bracco's CardioGen-82, approved in the US in 1989, and the newer Jubilant DraxImage RUBY-FILL) are used with dedicated infusion systems; the FDA label specifies adult rest/stress doses of 1,110-2,220 MBq (30-60 mCi) per component, imaging started 60-120 seconds after infusion, and mandatory testing of strontium-82 and strontium-85 breakthrough in the eluate. A generator remains usable for about 28-42 days depending on loaded activity. Comparative studies have found RUBY-FILL's 82Rb production efficiency roughly 7% higher than CardioGen-82's over a generator's working life, with both requiring daily quality assurance for breakthrough and elution accuracy.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Last checked: 2026-09-22
- Also known as: 82Sr/82Rb generator; CardioGen-82; RUBY-FILL
- Tags: generator; cardiac PET; rubidium-82
- Principle: A generator column holds accelerator-produced strontium-82 (half-life about 25 days); eluting it with saline washes off the potassium-like daughter rubidium-82, whose 75-second half-life is far too short to ship, so it must be produced fresh at the bedside immediately before each heart scan and can be re-eluted roughly every 10 minutes.
- Since: 82Rb PET clinical studies from the 1980s; CardioGen-82 FDA approval 1989

## Sources

- FDA label: CardioGen-82 (rubidium Rb 82 generator), 2024 revision: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2024/019414s034lbl.pdf
- Story of rubidium-82 and advantages for myocardial perfusion PET imaging (PMC 2015): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4566054/
- Rubidium-82 generator yield and efficiency for PET perfusion imaging: comparative study (PMC 2020): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7599151/

## Connected records

- technologies: [Cyclotron isotope production (F-18, Ga-68, Cu-64, Zr-89, At-211)](https://nuclide.cc/technologies/cyclotron-isotope-production/), [PET/CT](https://nuclide.cc/technologies/pet-ct/), [Quantitative imaging biomarkers (RECIST, PERCIST, SUV, ADC)](https://nuclide.cc/technologies/quantitative-imaging-biomarkers/)
- isotopes: [Rubidium-82](https://nuclide.cc/isotopes/rb-82/)

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