Data acquisition and analysis: the strength of methodology in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging

Excerpt

Data acquisition and data analysis are two methodological pillars of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging that originated by exploiting and combining the knowledge in the fields of tracer kinetics, instrumentation technology and computers. Sophisticated tracers and instruments are in fact of little use unless a data acquisition procedure is tailored to address a specific question and a careful data analysis is conducted to make sense of the acquired data. A continuous search is underway for better and newer data acquisition and analysis procedures that permit the procurement of more accurate and informative results, in relation to the rapid development and deployment of new tracers and instruments. Recent examples of this quest are reported below. …