Imaging Infections

Infectious diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. and worldwide. Overall costs and morbidity will continue to rise due to the increasing prevalence of highly virulent and multi-drug resistant pathogens, their rapid spread leading to frequent global pandemics and continued life-threatening nosocomial infections in hospitals. Tomographic molecular imaging techniques enable rapid visualization and monitoring of molecular processes noninvasively and promise unparalleled opportunities for infectious diseases. Imaging Infections: From Bench to Bedside brings together multi-disciplinary expertise to provide comprehensive information about molecular imaging of infectious disease. The goal of this book is to spur interest and innovation in this emerging field with a focus on the development of new imaging technologies for infectious disease and their translation to the clinic. We hope that these technologies will not only allow unique insights into understanding pathogenesis of infections but also expedite bench-to-bedside translation of new therapeutics. Since molecular imaging is already in common use in the clinic, it could also become a valuable tool for clinical studies, patient care, public health, and for enabling precision medicine for infectious diseases.