Molecular Imaging

Molecular Imaging targets the biochemical changes of diseases, which often occur a long time before the morphological expressions. Early detection of these biochemical changes provides many more choices and chances for therapeutic intervention during the early stages of a disease. This is the type of power that can and will transform daily medical practice from a system that reacts to disease and treats symptoms, often after it is too late for a cure, to one that detects disease at the beginning and treats its root cause. Ultimate goal with molecular imaging is to enable disease detection much earlier than is currently possible, which ultimately will obviate unnecessary surgeries and treatments. If an intervention is necessary nonetheless, molecular imaging may also be of help. E. g. by detecting tumor borders during the procedure. And in the best-case scenario, it will also result in more cost-effective treatments.
Molecular imaging holds the potential of simultaneously being able to locate, diagnose, and treat disease in vivo as well as the ability to depict how well a treatment is working early after therapy onset.