Multimodal Biomedical Imaging Systems - Biomedical Optical Imaging Technologies: Design and Applications - page 294

Chapter 9
Multimodal Biomedical Imaging Systems
Rongguang Liang
Optical imaging technologies can provide real-time images of tissues in vivo and
have the potential to reveal biochemical and/or molecular information; therefore,
they can significantly improve identification of malignancy at early stages. The
ability to obtain tissue architectural morphology and molecular information in vivo,
without the need for tissue excision, offers advancement in disease diagnostics
and therapy. Multimodal imaging systems combining multiple imaging modalities
for complementary tissue information offer a number of advantages compared with
a single imaging modality and improve the diagnosis and treatment of diseases using
distinct imaging techniques.
There is a need to develop an imaging technology with high sensitivity and
specificity in disease detection and with translational potential to clinical applica-
tions. Due to the limitation of individual imaging techniques, a new paradigm in
biomedical imaging is to combine multiple imaging modalities for complementary
tissue information. Recently, a number of multimodal imaging systems have been
developed with different imaging techniques. Such combinations offer a number of
advantages compared with a single imaging modality and improve the diagnosis and
treatment of diseases using distinct imaging techniques.
This chapter will first discuss major biomedical imaging techniques and their
advantages and limitations and then review selected multimodal imaging systems.
Following this, various design principles and examples will be described.
R. Liang ( )
College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
e-mail: [e-mail]