超声分子成像：机遇与挑战

随着分子生物学、蛋白组学、基因组学、计算机工程学等学科的不断进步,交叉融合,分子成像逐渐登上历史的舞台,成为研究热点。而超声分子成像随之迅猛发展,近年来超声微泡制备技术的成熟和超声造影检查技术的不断进步,超声造影不再局限获取组织的血流灌注信息,而是逐渐成为特异性的超声分子成像。目前使用超声对比剂研究分子成像和靶向治疗仍处于初级阶段。但是,各种分子成像技术的不断革新和发展,超声分子成像面临着重大的挑战,而在挑战背后同样面临着难逢的机遇。超声医学和分子生物学的迅猛发展,超声分子成像必将成为诊断和治疗疾病的新的手段和方法。超声造影剂仍有许多未能解决的问题,像如何延长微泡的半衰期、如何增强微泡的敏感性和特异性,如何增强目的基因的表达,如何处理组织损伤和高频超声之间的关系等问题,但是如果能解决这些问题,超声造影在现代医学的诊断和治疗中将起到重要的作用。现将超声分子成像综述如下。

Ultrasonic Molecular Imaging: Opportunities and Challenges

With the development and cross fusion of molecular biology, proteomics, genomics, computer engineering, molecular imaging has mounted the stage of history and became the focus of research. Among the use of ultrasound-based molecular imaging methods are particular interest, since the use of ultrasound contrast agents allows specific and sensitive depiction of vascular molecular targets. At present, the research of molecular imaging and targeted treatment that utilize ultrasound contrast agent is still primitive. However, innovation and development of molecular imaging technology, ultrasound molecular imaging is faced with great challenges, and the challenges facing rare opportunities behind the same. With the development of ultrasonography and molecular biology, ultrasound molecular imaging will become to a new stage and a new method of diagnosing and treating diseases. There are many questions need to be resolved in ultrasonic molecular imaging. For example, how to improve the chemical composition of microbubbles for prolonged half-life, how to enhance the sensitivity and specificity, how to increase the expression of gene of interest, how to resolve the relationship between ultrasound dose and tissue damage.If these questions are adequately answered, contrast enhanced ultrasound will play an essential role in modern medical diagnosis and treatment. Now, we have reviewed the ultrasonic molecular imaging as follow.