Imaging atoms in medicine

The innovations in science and technology have allowed researchers to look inside the human body. In some cases, like MRI, the protons present in the body generate enough signal for an image. However, the employ of certain atoms, metallic or non-metallic, enable detection through different imaging techniques (computed tomography, nuclear imaging, ultrasound or optical imaging), and improve the quality of the images. Here we discuss the different imaging atoms used depending on the imaging technique and the new possible imaging atoms for medical applications.