ABSTRACT
Nuclear imaging is noninvasive and therefore unique in its ability to evaluate biological pathways and function at the molecular level without perturbing the systems under investigation. Other techniques require invasive, destructive sampling of cells and tissues that yields a nonuniform, static snapshot at a single point in time. Molecular imaging is used to elucidate basic biology, diagnose and stage disease, and evaluate the in vitro properties of proposed drugs and aid in their translation from the bench to the clinic. is requires evaluating the drugs in appropriate animal models to determine distribution, concentration, and clearance in organs and tissues over time, and this can be done most eciently and eectively by imaging. e ultimate goal is to develop a data set that can accurately predict what drug dose can be administered safely and eectively to humans.
