Medical professionals who have been working at the molecular level to test out important new treatments traditionally take an approach of coating the muscles with the treatment and waiting for the results to occur. In the future, we are likely to see more targeted use of treatments to the specific areas designed to receive the medicine. This will be done using the kind of imaging techniques that are common for preventive health screening.
Imaging can be used to guide doctors to the right spots in the body for delivering injections. This method is much more efficient as it allows for a better understanding of what's going on in the body as a result of the medical treatment. "Future interventional radiology suites will likely require PET/CT, MRI, and fluoroscopy units." (source).
This will be helpful for treating a whole range of different medical problems. For example, it can be used in vein treatment to better target the vein or artery that is blocked and requires medical intervention. As imaging improves, so will the ability of doctors to treat a range of different diseases and medical problems.
Question of the Day: What types of imaging have played a role in your medical treatment in the past?
