Status Go for Preclinical Imaging

The phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words!” best describes the importance of preclinical imaging in medical and pharmaceutical research. With the availability of specific models systems of human disease and dedicated imaging techniques preclinical imaging is applied in all areas of medical research ranging from oncology and cardiology to neurology, drug development and many more. In preclinical imaging a variety of imaging techniques are used such as the classical imaging modalities CT and MRI to the nuclear imaging modalities PET and SPECT. In addition, optical or acoustic imaging techniques like optical imaging, ultrasound, and optoacoustic imaging techniques complement the portfolio. Moreover, the range of (animal) model systems of human diseases is not limited to animal models (mostly rodent) alone but was recently extended by the introduction of in-ovo techniques for cancer research. Using this enormous toolsets of techniques, preclinical imaging has brought new insights in the understanding of biology, identification of disease targets and development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The future of preclinical imaging is bright with recent impactful technology developments likely to expand even more the critical role of preclinical imaging in biomedical and pharmaceutical research, as well as, aid paradigm development to support clinical imaging.
The research topic aims to cover all different imaging techniques used in preclinical research, as well as, summarise contributions of preclinical imaging to date, critical areas in need for further development and future impact of preclinical imaging in biomedical and pharmaceutical research. Researchers from all areas of preclinical imaging (in vivo, in ovo, PET, SPECT, MR, CT, optical imaging,…) are welcome to submit research papers and reviews describing instrumentation developments, novel probes, new techniques and approaches to preclinical imaging.