Medical Imaging: Current status and future perspectives

Medical imaging is often thought of as a way of viewing anatomical structures of the body. Indeed, x-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging yield exquisitely detailed images of such structures. It is often useful, however, to acquire images of physiologic function rather than of anatomy. Such images can be acquired by imaging the decay of radioisotopes bound to molecules with known biological properties. This class of imaging techniques is known as nuclear medicine imaging.