Multi-modality systems for molecular tomographic imaging

In vivo small animal imaging is a cornerstone in the study of human diseases by providing important clues on the pathogenesis, progression and treatment of many disorders. Molecular tomographic imaging can probe complex biologic interactions dynamically and to study diseases and treatment responses over time in the same animal. Current imaging technique including microCT, microMRI, microPET, microSPECT, microUS, BLT and FMT has its own advantages and applications, however, none of them can provide structural, functional and molecular information in one context. Multi-modality imaging, which utilizes the strengths of different modalities to provide a complete understanding of the object under investigation, emerges as an important alternative in small animal imaging. This article is to introduce the latest development of multimodality systems for small animal tomographic imaging. After a systematic review of imaging principles, systems and commerical products for each stand-alone method, we introduce some multimodality strategies in the latest years. In particular, two dual-modality systems, i.e. FMT-CT and FMT-PET are presented in detail. The end of this article concludes that though most multimodality systems are still in a laboratory research stage, they will surely undergo deep development and wide application in the near future.