Bringing Molecular Imaging from Bench to Bedside (original) (raw)

Molecular imaging (MI) an innovative and emerging discipline is paving new roads in the field of medical imaging. This relatively new branch of nuclear medicine helps in visualizing biological events occurring at both cellular and tissue structural levels to be seen at a very early stage often well before they can be detected by conventional diagnostic procedures such as CT and MRI. Data obtained from conventional X ray imaging or CT scans usually reflect the anatomy of the region scan. Therefore, to correlate biological process with anatomical location of the body, MI devices are integrated with the existing CT or MRI modalities wherein computers aid in fusing the biological and anatomical images. Advances in the field of molecular biology has led to an array of new molecular markers being developed around the world and only very few have made it for clinical applications. The main aim of the current study was to introduce the concept of this new innovative imaging technique to pro...

Molecular imaging: a primer for interventionalists and imagers

Journal of vascular and interventional radiology : JVIR, 2009

The characterization of human diseases by their underlying molecular and genomic aberrations has been the hallmark of molecular medicine. From this, molecular imaging has emerged as a potentially revolutionary discipline that aims to visually characterize normal and pathologic processes at the cellular and molecular levels within the milieu of living organisms. Molecular imaging holds promise to provide earlier and more precise disease diagnosis, improved disease characterization, and timely assessment of therapeutic response. This primer is intended to provide a broad overview of molecular imaging with specific focus on future clinical applications relevant to interventional radiology.

Hybrid imaging is the future of molecular imaging

Biomedical Imaging and Intervention Journal, 2007

Correlative imaging has long been used in clinical practice and particularly for the interpretation of nuclear medicine studies wherein detailed anatomical information is often lacking. Previously, side-by-side comparison or software co-registration techniques were applied but suffered from technical limitations related to the differing geometries of the imaging equipment, differences in the positioning of patients and displacement of mobile structures between studies. The development of the first hybrid PET and CT device struck a chord with the medical imaging community that is still ringing loudly throughout the world. So successful has been the concept of PET-CT that none of the major medical imaging manufacturers now offers stand-alone PET scanners. Following close behind this success, SPECT-CT devices have recently been adopted by the nuclear medicine community, already compelled by the benefits of hybrid imaging through their experience with PET-CT. Recent reports of adaptation of PET detectors to operate within the strong magnetic field of MRI scanners have generated further enthusiasm. Prototype PET-MRI devices are now in development. The complementary anatomical, functional and molecular information provided by these techniques can now be presented in an intuitive and aesthetically-pleasing format. This has made end-users more comfortable with the results of functional imaging techniques than when the same information is presented independently. Despite the primacy of anatomical imaging for locoregional disease definition, the molecular characterisation available from PET and SPECT offers unique complementary information for cancer evaluation. A new era of cancer imaging, when hybrid imaging will be the primary diagnostic tool, is approaching.

Molecular Imaging for Cancer Diagnosis and Surveillance

Nowadays, molecular imaging technologies have a pivotal role in the field of clinical oncology. The utilization of imaging methods in the early detection of cancer, assessment of treatment response, and development of new therapies is steadily increasing and has already had a significant impact on the clinical management of cancer. Molecular imaging is indispensable for both the detection and treatment of cancer. It focuses on various biomarkers used in targeted therapy, and nuclear medicinebased molecular imaging is a real-time and non-invasive technique that has the potential to identify tumors at an earlier and more manageable stage, before anatomical imaging methods reveal the presence of the disease. Molecular imaging offers extensive possibilities for visualizing cellular and molecular activities throughout tumor growth, serving as a biomedical imaging technology with remarkable sensitivity in detecting and resolving images. It provides non-invasive methods for observing, characterizing, and quantifying biological processes at the cellular and subcellular levels. The development of molecular imaging biomarkers is aimed at improving the evaluation of the effects of targeted therapy. Examples of molecular imaging techniques include positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), magnetic resonance imaging (mMRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), optical imaging, photoacoustic imaging, and multimodal imaging. Some modalities require the administration of molecular probes, while mMRI and photoacoustic imaging can track the effectiveness of drugs using either endogenous molecules or exogenous molecular probes.

An introduction to molecular imaging in radiation oncology: A report by the AAPM Working Group on Molecular Imaging in Radiation Oncology (WGMIR)

Medical Physics, 2013

Molecular imaging is the direct or indirect noninvasive monitoring and recording of the spatial and temporal distribution of in vivo molecular, genetic, and/or cellular processes for biochemical, biological, diagnostic, or therapeutic applications. Molecular images that indicate the presence of malignancy can be acquired using optical, ultrasonic, radiologic, radionuclide, and magnetic resonance techniques. For the radiation oncology physicist in particular, these methods and their roles in molecular imaging of oncologic processes are reviewed with respect to their physical bases and imaging characteristics, including signal intensity, spatial scale, and spatial resolution. Relevant molecular terminology is defined as an educational assist. Current and future clinical applications in oncologic diagnosis and treatment are discussed. National initiatives for the development of basic science and clinical molecular imaging techniques and expertise are reviewed, illustrating research opportunities in as well as the importance of this growing field.

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