Latest advances in molecular imaging instrumentation.
This review concentrates on the latest advances in molecular imaging technology, including PET, MRI, and optical imaging. In PET, significant improvements in tumor detection and image resolution have been achieved by introducing new scintillation materials, iterative image reconstruction, and correction methods. These advances enabled the first clinical scanners capable of time-of-flight detection and incorporating point-spread-function reconstruction to compensate for depth-of-interaction effects. In the field of MRI, the most important developments in recent years have mainly been MRI systems with higher field strengths and improved radiofrequency coil technology. Hyperpolarized imaging, functional MRI, and MR spectroscopy provide molecular information in vivo. A special focus of this review article is multimodality imaging and, in particular, the emerging field of combined PET/MRI.
Laboratory for Preclinical Imaging and Imaging Technology of the Werner Siemens Foundation, Department of Radiology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. Bernd.Pichler@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Bernd J
BJ
Pichler
Hans F
HF
Wehrl
Martin S
MS
Judenhofer
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008327:Mammography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation