Published online Jun 25, 2015. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v6.i6.792
Peer-review started: August 31, 2014
First decision: December 17, 2014
Revised: December 23, 2014
Accepted: April 10, 2015
Article in press: April 14, 2015
Published online: June 25, 2015
Processing time: 296 Days and 22 Hours
Medical imaging technologies are acquiring an increasing relevance to assist clinicians in diagnosis and to guide management and therapeutic treatment of patients, thanks to their non invasive and high resolution properties. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasonography are the most used imaging modalities to provide detailed morphological reconstructions of tissues and organs. In addition, the use of contrast dyes or radionuclide-labeled tracers permits to get functional and quantitative information about tissue physiology and metabolism in normal and disease state. In recent years, the development of multimodal and hydrid imaging techniques is coming to be the new frontier of medical imaging for the possibility to overcome limitations of single modalities and to obtain physiological and pathophysiological measurements within an accurate anatomical framework. Moreover, the employment of molecular probes, such as ligands or antibodies, allows a selective in vivo targeting of biomolecules involved in specific cellular processes, so expanding the potentialities of imaging techniques for clinical and research applications. This review is aimed to give a survey of characteristics of main diagnostic non-invasive imaging techniques. Current clinical appliances and future perspectives of imaging in the diagnostic and prognostic assessment of diabetic complications affecting different organ systems will be particularly addressed.
Core tip: Non-invasive imaging techniques are increasingly employed in every medical field, both for diagnostic purposes and for monitoring of pathological progression and/or efficacy of treatments. Several imaging modalities are currently available to provide structural and functional information about tissue and organ physiology, and thanks to technical improvements and development of hybrid devices, multimodal imaging combining advantages of different techniques offers now new potentialities for research and clinics. Aim of this review is to overview the principal features of most used diagnostic imaging modalities and to explore main current and forthcoming applications for the study and management of diabetes and its complications.