This issue of Academic Radiology includes four excellent review articles from the 4th International Workshop for Pulmonary Functional Imaging, which was held in Boston in September 2009. The first workshop was held in 2002 in Philadelphia, followed by Awaji Island, Japan, in 2004 and Heidelberg, Germany, in 2006. In fact, I am writing this editorial in Awaji Island in Japan while attending the 5th International Workshop for Pulmonary Functional Imaging, which attracted more than 250 participants from around the world with expertise in pulmonary medicine, thoracic surgery, radiology, nuclear medicine, physiology, engineering, computer science, and public health—a multidisciplinary group of researchers, physicians, and students.
Drs. Tustison and Gee from the University of Pennsylvania put together an excellent review article on the emerging field of “Pulmonary kinematics” . Drs. Schroeder, Vidal Melo, and Venegas from the Massachusetts General Hospital reviewed the F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography evaluation of inflammatory lung disease , which is one of the hottest topics in pulmonary medicine. Dr. Nishino from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute summarized the current topic of imaging of lung cancer in the era of molecular medicine . Molecular medicine is revolutionizing the treatment of lung cancer by introduction of targeted therapy. Dr. Okajima from Brigham and Women’s Hospital reviewed the computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging assessment of pulmonary hypertension , which has lagged far behind other fields of pulmonary functional imaging. This thorough and comprehensive review article will assist new investigators and clinicians interested in this emerging field.
More than 50 years after the discovery of DNA, molecular medicine is now enabling utilization of accumulated genomic and molecular information for the treatment of individual patients. This movement is forcing radiology to be quantitative, reproducible, and functional to monitor the responses to new targeted therapies. This “tsunami”-like movement, which originated from the discovery of DNA more than half century ago , is fundamentally changing how we practice radiology.
References
1. Tustison N.J., Cook T.S., Song G., et. al.: Pulmonary kinematics from image data: a review. Acad Radiol 2011; 18: pp. 402-417.
2. Schroeder T., Vidal Melo M.F., Venegas J.G.: Analysis of 2-[fluorine-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose uptake kinetics in pet studies of pulmonary inflammation. Acad Radiol 2011; 18: pp. 418-423.
3. Nishino M., Jackman D.M., Hatabu H., et. al.: Imaging of lung cancer in the era of molecular medicine. Acad Radiol 2011; 18: pp. 424-436.
4. Okajima Y., Ohno Y., Washko G.R., et. al.: Assessment of pulmonary hypertension: what CT and MRI can provide. Acad Radiol 2011; 18: pp. 437-453.
5. Watson J.D., Crick F.H.C.: Molecular structure of nucleic acids. Nature 1953; 171: pp. 737.