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Gallium is a soft, silvery metal with a melting point so low it turns liquid in a warm hand. Gallium-67 is a synthetic radioisotope produced for medical imaging, with a half-life of about 3.3 days.
Gallium-67 decays by electron capture, emitting several gamma photons at energies suited to single-photon (SPECT) imaging. Its multi-day half-life allows imaging over several days suiting multi-phase imaging, though it also gives a higher radiation burden than shorter-lived agents, which shapes where it is used.
For decades gallium-67 was the standard tool for staging lymphoma before fluorine-18 FDG-PET displaced it. It remains in use for imaging infection, inflammation, and granulomatous disease, retaining a role in situations such as spinal infection, chronic infection, and immunocompromised patients.
Gallium-67 is produced via proton bombardment of an enriched zinc-68 target. Because it requires a relatively high-energy cyclotron, supply is concentrated among a small number of producers, leaving users dependent on centralised distribution.
StandardX is developing accelerator-based production to provide a more reliable and accessible supply of gallium-67.