CFP - Special Issue

Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging

Guest editors:

Martin Rodriguez-Porcel, M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Cardiovascular Diseases
Mayo Clinic
200 First St SW
Rochester, MN 55905
Phone: 1-507-284-4442

Email:

Joseph C. Wu, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Medicine - Cardiovascular Medicine
Member, Bio-X
Member, Cancer Center
Associate Professor, Radiology
Stanford University School of Medicine
300 Pasteur Dr A260 MC 5319
Stanford, CA 94305
Tel: (650) 723-6145

Email:

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) continue to be the major cause of morbidity and mortality.  Despite significant advances in the diagnosis and therapy of CVD, there is a great need for the development of novel methodologies to diagnosis and treat CVD. The advent, over the last 2-3 decades, of molecular imaging has provided an opportunity to better understand a wide spectrum of cardiovascular pathophysyiological conditions.

Traditionally, molecular imaging has been based on the concept that exogenously given probes will react with the molecular targets under study, providing signal that can then be detected. The majority of these approaches use different versions of optical imaging or more clincially applicable modalities like positron emission tomography, single photon emission computed tomography, ultrasonography and contrast based magnetic resonance imaging. More recently, there have also been developments in the noninvasive detection of organ physiology that are not dependent on exogenous substrates (e.g., Raman spectroscopy, non-contrast based magnetic resonance imaging).

Over the last few years, there have been significant advances in the field of molecualr imaging of CVD, but many questions remain.  Significant interest on the fusion of these technologies, trying to get the best of each one, and how to use the information provided by these diagnotic tools (diagnostics) to act as drivers for therapy (Theranostics).

In this focused issue of Theranostics, we are inviting authors to submit original contributions and/or review articles on the topic of cardiovascular molecular imaging. Topics to be considered include, but are not limited to:

• Imaging targets in Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging
• Molecular Imaging of the vascular wall: current status
• Molecular Imaging of the myocardium
• PET and SPECT approaches to Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging:
• Methods in MRI Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging
• Use of Ultrasonography for Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging
• Theranostics in Cardiovascular Diseases: diagnosis meets therapy
• Molecular imaging in the clinics: present and future

We anticipate that the articles in this focused issue will provide an overall status of the field of molecular imaging, paving the road for the future developments in the field.

Manuscripts for the special issue can be sent directly to the guest editor(s) by email with the subject "CVDMI Special Issue", or submitted online at http://www.thno.org/ms/submit (mark "CVDMI Special Issue" in the "Suggested reviewers" field to identify the paper).

Detailed formatting instructions, in particular, the formatting of references, can be found in http://www.thno.org/ms/author.

All inquiries should be sent to the guest editor(s) at the above email address.