title: [Molecular imaging; current status and future prospects in USA].
abstract: The goal of this review is to introduce the definition, current status, and future prospects of the molecular imaging, which has recently been a hot topic in medicine and the biological science in USA. In vivo imaging methods to visualize the molecular events and functions in organs or animals/humans are overviewed and discussed especially in combinations of imaging modalities (machines) and contrast agents(chemicals) used in the molecular imaging. Next, the close relationship between the molecular imaging and the nanotechnology, an important part of nanomedicine, is stressed from the aspect of united multidisciplinary sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health.
authors.forename: Hisataka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D036103:Nanotechnology; D014481:United States