Medical imaging

Since the introduction of the X-ray scanner into radiology almost 25 years ago, non-invasive imaging has become firmly established as an essential tool in the diagnosis of disease. Fully three-dimensional imaging of internal organs is now possible, b and for studies which explore the functional status of the body. Powerful techniques to correlate anatomy and function are available, and scanners which combine anatomical and functional imaging in a single device are under development. Such techniques have been made possible through r ecent technological and mathematical advances. This series of lectures will review both the physical basis of medical imaging techniques using X-rays, gamma and positron emitting radiosiotopes, and nuclear magnetic resonance, and the mathematical methods used to reconstruct three-dimentional distributions from projection data. The lectures will trace the development of medical imaging from simple radiographs to the present-day non-invasive measurement of in vivo biochemistry. They will be aimed at non-specialists with a scientific background and all techniques will be extensively illustrated with appropriate examples of medical images.