Chromium-labelled red blood cells

Last revised by Andrew Murphy on 2 Apr 2020

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Ballinger J, Bell D, Jones J, Chromium-labelled red blood cells. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 19 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-21775

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-21775

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/21775

rID:

21775

Article created:

17 Feb 2013, J. Ray Ballinger

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created J. Ray Ballinger had no recorded disclosures.

View J. Ray Ballinger's current disclosures

Last revised:

2 Apr 2020, Andrew Murphy ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Andrew Murphy had no recorded disclosures.

View Andrew Murphy's current disclosures

Revisions:

3 times, by 3 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Sections:

Imaging Technology

Tags:

mri, contrast_agents

Synonyms:

Cr-labeled red blood cells
Chromium-labeled RBCs
Cr-labeled RBCs
Chromium-labeled erythrocytes
Cr-labeled erythrocytes

Chromium-labelled red blood cells is an intravascular MRI contrast agent. The use of ⁵¹Cr-labelled RBCs in nuclear medicine suggested the use of paramagnetic Cr(III)-labelled RBCs as an intravascular contrast agent for MRI. In dogs, significant enhancement of the liver and spleen is noted with minimal enhancement of the kidneys. The blood volume to be replaced with labelled RBCs in these studies corresponds to about one unit in humans. The survival half-life of labelled cells is 4.7 days compared to 16.6 days for unlabeled cells. Free chromium ions may contribute to the enhanced relaxation rates of the liver and spleen. Short term toxicity appears to be low, but further studies are necessary.