Radioisotope shortage could force delays in medical tests

Thousands of U.S. patients may face delays in getting key medical tests because of a global shortage of radioactive tracers used to perform bone scans and to assess blood flow to the heart. The radiotracer in short supply, Mo-99, is mostly used to observe blood flow to the heart and in bone scans that assess the spread of cancer. The impact on patients is "very serious," said Robert Atcher, president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine.