ABSTRACT
The idea of using our body’s own resources to regenerate or replace diseased tissue or to fight disease is very captivating, and, as a result, the concept of cellular therapy has been around since 1667 when Jean-Baptiste Denys documented the first blood transfusion. No matter which strategy is used, the detectability of the cell-tracking agents must be tuned to the time frame of the study. For example, if the therapeutic action of the transplanted cells occurs within a short period of time, then it is of no use loading a cell with potentially harmful longer lasting compounds. Imaging can play a pivotal role in the widespread acceptance of cellular therapies, as it can offer longitudinal and kinetic data. Providing the availability of suitable contrast agents, long-term tissue function and survival can be studied and information on cell numbers, functionality, and localization can be obtained.
