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Review
. 2015 Nov 24;112(47):14424-8.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1508524112.

Advancing biomedical imaging

Ralph Weissleder  1 , Matthias Nahrendorf  2
Affiliations
Review

Advancing biomedical imaging

Ralph Weissleder et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Imaging reveals complex structures and dynamic interactive processes, located deep inside the body, that are otherwise difficult to decipher. Numerous imaging modalities harness every last inch of the energy spectrum. Clinical modalities include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, and light-based methods [endoscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT)]. Research modalities include various light microscopy techniques (confocal, multiphoton, total internal reflection, superresolution fluorescence microscopy), electron microscopy, mass spectrometry imaging, fluorescence tomography, bioluminescence, variations of OCT, and optoacoustic imaging, among a few others. Although clinical imaging and research microscopy are often isolated from one another, we argue that their combination and integration is not only informative but also essential to discovering new biology and interpreting clinical datasets in which signals invariably originate from hundreds to thousands of cells per voxel.

Keywords: imaging; inflammation; intravital microscopy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Overview of clinical and basic science imaging needs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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