{"entity":{"id":"sr82-rb82-generators","kind":"technology","name":"Strontium-82/rubidium-82 generators","aka":["82Sr/82Rb generator","CardioGen-82","RUBY-FILL"],"tldr":"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.\n\nCommercial 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.","asOf":"2026-09-22","links":[{"label":"FDA label: CardioGen-82 (rubidium Rb 82 generator), 2024 revision","url":"https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2024/019414s034lbl.pdf"},{"label":"Story of rubidium-82 and advantages for myocardial perfusion PET imaging (PMC 2015)","url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4566054/"},{"label":"Rubidium-82 generator yield and efficiency for PET perfusion imaging: comparative study (PMC 2020)","url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7599151/"}],"tags":["generator","cardiac PET","rubidium-82"],"related":["pet-ct","quantitative-imaging-biomarkers","rb-82"],"indications":[],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":["cyclotron-isotope-production","pet-ct"],"notes":[],"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.","strengths":[],"limitations":[],"since":"82Rb PET clinical studies from the 1980s; CardioGen-82 FDA approval 1989"},"route":"/technologies/sr82-rb82-generators/","neighbours":{"technology":[{"id":"cyclotron-isotope-production","kind":"technology","name":"Cyclotron isotope production (F-18, Ga-68, Cu-64, Zr-89, At-211)","route":"/technologies/cyclotron-isotope-production/"},{"id":"pet-ct","kind":"technology","name":"PET/CT","route":"/technologies/pet-ct/"},{"id":"quantitative-imaging-biomarkers","kind":"technology","name":"Quantitative imaging biomarkers (RECIST, PERCIST, SUV, ADC)","route":"/technologies/quantitative-imaging-biomarkers/"}],"isotope":[{"id":"rb-82","kind":"isotope","name":"Rubidium-82","route":"/isotopes/rb-82/"}]}}