Cardiovascular nuclear imaging: From perfusion to molecular function

While nuclear cardiology is well rooted in clinical cardiovascular medicine through myocardial perfusion imaging, new developments in recent years indicate a change in the field. Given the increasing precision of available imaging technology, the introduction of multiple new tracers specific for molecular mechanisms, and the improving translational capabilities through small animal imaging, it is envisioned that nuclear imaging will increasingly go beyond the assessment of perfusion and function, in order to target specific biomechanisms involved in individual disease processes. Due to the unique ability to detect molecules in very low concentrations throughout the body of humans as well as experimental animals, these new approaches of molecular nuclear cardiology are expected to play a key role in the evolution of personalised medicine and in the introduction of novel specific therapies.