Medical imaging is a cornerstone of diagnosis and continuing care. This division of healthcare delivery assists physicians in detecting and treating medical conditions and monitoring treatment progress.
Medical diagnostic imaging encompasses a number of key imaging modalities, including x-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound (US), positron emission tomography (PET), and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).
Trends in medical imaging applications
Emerging drivers in medical imaging markets focus on the advancement and development of multi-modality imaging. Multi-modality imaging fuses the capabilities of two or more imaging modalities into a single system. Two of the most commonly encountered include the PET/CT or SPECT/CT. These hybrid systems combine the strengths of both imaging modalities, and realize the benefits of two scans within a single exam for the patient.
This emergence of hybrid imaging systems is rapidly fuelling demand for multi-modality imaging agents.
What is a contrast agent?
Contrast agents are administered prior to an imaging procedure in order to increase the level of visibility of the organ or tissue under examination, assisting physicians to accurately determine the presence and extent of disease or injury.
Traditionally, a contrast agent can only be visualized under one or two imaging modalities. With trends driving multi-modality imaging systems, the need for hybrid contrast agents that incorporate the visibility advantages attributable to multiple contrast agents into one single formulation is rapidly increasing.
What is a marking agent?
Marking agents serve to enhance visualization of specific sites of interest in biopsies or surgery, for example tissue marking implants, or can help in the identification and localisation of devices that are implanted into the body.
This allows physicians for accurate relocation of areas of interest, enabling guided therapy and monitoring of the site post-operatively.
Molecular imaging
By far the superior technological advance is that within the field of molecular imaging.
Molecular imaging is a developing, multidisciplinary industry which combines biological and cellular science with highly advanced imaging and detection technologies. This combination provides a powerful technique which promises to detect the earliest stages of disease initiation and progression, allowing for timely intervention and better delivery of care.
Molecular imaging incorporates an affinity molecule that binds specifically to a target molecule that characterizes the disease process being studied. This affinity molecule is labeled with a methodology that allows detection by an imaging device allowing localization of early stage disease.
