doi: 10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.108.793083
Editorials |
A New Forum for Cardiovascular Imaging Research
From the Noninvasive Cardiovascular Imaging Program, Departments of Medicine (Cardiology) and Radiology, and the Division of Nuclear Medicine/PET, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School; and the Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Mass.
Correspondence to Marcelo F. Di Carli, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Room AI L1–037C, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail mdicarli@partners.org
An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract. |
The field of cardiovascular imaging is witnessing an explosive expansion of its armamentarium of noninvasive technologies capable of providing detailed information about the structure and function of the heart and vasculature. Many of these technologies are integrating (eg, positron emission tomography and computed tomography, positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging), compounding the unique strengths of the component technologies to achieve improved diagnosis of disease and better patient care. In addition, the miniaturization of imaging devices with dramatic increases in sensitivity and spatial resolution, coupled with the development of quantitative targeted imaging approaches for evaluating physiology and pathophysiology at the cellular and molecular levels, provides a unique platform for a new era in diagnostic imaging. The crucial role of imaging in early phenotyping of disease, risk definition, management guidance, and outcome assessment is expanding rapidly in ways previously thought unrealistic. These technological advances have ignited an unprecedented convergence of disciplines (cardiology, radiology, nuclear medicine, molecular biology, medical physics, and chemistry) that together are promoting innovation and new clinical applications in cardiovascular imaging. The dramatic growth in both the diversity of imaging options and their complexity forms the basis for the emergence of the proposed cardiovascular "imaging specialist."
The imaging science resulting from these efforts has had increasing difficulty getting published in top-notch general cardiology journals, where it competes with a broad spectrum of articles. Many high-quality articles featuring innovative approaches, often including multiple modalities, have also had difficulty being accepted in subspecialty imaging journals with a more narrow focus.
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