If you compare imaging technology today to looking at a street map of a whole city, what molecular imaging promises is to zoom into a neighborhood, or even a street corner, to see details never seen before that will vastly improve the ability to diagnose medical conditions.

In the field of molecular imaging, molecular biology (including genetics) meets advanced imaging, which holds unlimited promise for the future of medicine. This is especially true as new modalities enter the molecular imaging arena such as PET and SPECT. The power of molecular imaging to integrate information from non-invasive studies has vast potential for patient care, according to the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM). However it will require multi-disciplinary cooperation among clinicians since, as medical images move into sharper focus the lines between specialties will blur. As combination imaging technologies incorporating molecular imaging are applied to prevalent disease areas such as cardiology, we will see advanced molecular imaging move from pure research applications to clinical care. Another promising application will be diagnosing and staging cancer.

"SNM sees the merging of nuclear medicine techniques, new technologies, hybrid imaging and advances in molecular biology as a defining moment," said SNM President Martin P. Sandler at a recent industry summit.
"SNM recognizes the critical role for molecular imaging in future patient care. We are working actively with the commercial sector to facilitate the movement of molecular discoveries from bench to bedside and with officials from the government and federal agencies to identify the needs and resources for advancing the nation's health care," added SNM President-Elect Alexander J. McEwan. "The power of molecular imaging to integrate information about location, structure, function and biology will lead to a package of noninvasive, in vivo imaging tools that could have vast potential for improving both patient care and the utilization of health care resources."

Pointing to the growing prominence and promise of molecular imaging, the field was a major focus of the recent RSNA meeting, with a special education area designated as the Molecular Imaging Zone. All molecular imaging exhibits were grouped together along with exhibits from federal agencies, such as the National Cancer Institute, as well as information about funded centers of excellence in molecular imaging located nationwide. In addition to the Society of Nuclear Medicine, the Academy of Molecular Imaging and Society for Molecular Imaging had a presence at the event.

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