Synopsis

Molecular imaging promises to provide information on molecular and cellular alterations that precede anatomical or functional disease manifestation. Molecular imaging thus may help to detect pre-symptomatic sub-clinical disease, provide information on molecular markers for targeted drug treatment and improve monitoring of treatment response by visualising the effect of drugs or interventions both at the molecular and anatomical level. In this presentation I will discuss the potential of MR molecular and non-molecular imaging for the non-invasive detection of early and advanced atherosclerosis, and I will discuss the potential of non-molecular MRI and other imaging modalities for cardiovascular risk assessment and prediction.