Molecular Imaging of Atherosclerosis: A Clinical Focus

Molecular imaging of cardiovascular disease is a powerful clinical and experimental approach that can inform our understanding of atherosclerosis biology. Complementing cross-sectional imaging techniques that provide detailed anatomical information, molecular imaging can further detect important biological changes occurring within atheroma and refine the prediction of vascular complications. Molecular imaging of atherosclerosis can illuminate underlying pathophysiology and serve as a surrogate endpoint in clinical trials of new drugs. This review showcases promising molecular approaches for imaging atherosclerosis, with a focus on positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and intravascular near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging methods that are in the clinic or close-to-clinical usage.