Preface

Medical imaging was primarily seen as the use of non-invasive techniques to create internal images of the human body for clinical or medical purposes. This rapidly evolving field of medicine originated in the first decade of the 19th century, when Wilhelm Röntgen, a professor of physics at Würzburg University in Germany, discovered electromagnetic radiation. After the World War Two, the development of computer technology has triggered an amazing revolution in medical imaging techniques.

What we know about and do with medical imaging has changed tremendously over the past decade, beginning with the basics, following with the breakthroughs, and moving on to the abstract.

There is a continuous drive not only to improve the diagnostic yield of medical imaging techniques for clinical use, but also the management of the huge amount of digital information available to medical imaging departments. Today there is an increasing interest to harness medical imaging processes to improve research in the biophysical domain.

Medical imaging has experienced tremendous progress during the past decade. Continuous innovations have been fueled by the need to improve diagnostic yield and achieve fast turnaround through robust information management, which should ultimately improve patient outcome. The rapid changes in digital technology have also created opportunities for the development of high-tech equipment employed in medical imaging practice.

Incidentally, these changes tend to revolve around key modalities such as radiography, computed tomography, scintigraphy, magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound. In many instances, one modality tends to augment the limitations associated with others. This book approaches the concept of medical imaging from a wider perspective not considered by many authors in this area. It consists of four sections and eighteen chapters and topics.

The first section deals with basic concepts such as identification of structures in medical images, 3D image segmentation, image analysis, texture analysis, radiation protection and simulations.

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Section two concentrates on the image processing techniques, quality metrics as well as tools required to optimize patient processes.

Section three deals with applications of medical techniques in clinical settings, while the last section explores the advances made in this area including PET/CT hybrid technique, optical imaging thermography, mitosis detection, phase contrast microscopy and use in image-guided surgery.

It is hoped that this book bridges the gap between the core clinical books reserved for medical diagnosis and the wide ranging possibilities in the field of biological research. It is a must-read for all practitioners and researchers interested in medical imaging.

This book is an attempt to present the old, understand the current and appreciate the great advancements into the future of medical imaging. It will be an invaluable resource to those interested in history, clinical applications and unlimited horizons presented by medical imaging science.

My acknowledgement goes to all the authors, who have made scholarly contributions to the book from diverse backgrounds. I am also grateful and indebted to the publishing process managers Bojana Zelenika and Marija Radja for carefully directing the editorial process and for their patience even when I couldn't meet the scheduled timeline.

> **Felix Okechukwu Erondu Ph.D**  Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Radiography and Medical Imaging University of Nigeria Nigeria

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timeline.

Section two concentrates on the image processing techniques, quality metrics as well

Section three deals with applications of medical techniques in clinical settings, while the last section explores the advances made in this area including PET/CT hybrid technique, optical imaging thermography, mitosis detection, phase contrast

It is hoped that this book bridges the gap between the core clinical books reserved for medical diagnosis and the wide ranging possibilities in the field of biological research. It is a must-read for all practitioners and researchers interested in medical imaging.

This book is an attempt to present the old, understand the current and appreciate the great advancements into the future of medical imaging. It will be an invaluable resource to those interested in history, clinical applications and unlimited horizons

My acknowledgement goes to all the authors, who have made scholarly contributions to the book from diverse backgrounds. I am also grateful and indebted to the publishing process managers Bojana Zelenika and Marija Radja for carefully directing the editorial process and for their patience even when I couldn't meet the scheduled

**Felix Okechukwu Erondu Ph.D** 

University of Nigeria

Nigeria

Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Radiography and Medical Imaging

as tools required to optimize patient processes.

microscopy and use in image-guided surgery.

presented by medical imaging science.

**Part 1** 

**Basic Concepts in Medical Imaging** 
