Functional CT: physiological models

Since its introduction three decades ago, computed tomography (CT) has been regarded as an imaging technique that is good at providing structural information but poor at providing physiological (functional) data to help with diagnosis. For instance, although it can reveal an abnormal mass present in the lung or liver, it cannot always differentiate a benign mass from a malignant growth. The introduction of fast CT scanners in the past decade, together with the development of better analysis techniques, has helped to launch functional CT as a new method to investigate the physiological basis of function and disease in the human body.