Born from the great ideas of physics, implemented by engineering, biomedical imaging is in full revolution. Thirty years ago, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instrumentation were used for the first time at the service of medicine. This is one of the last revolutions in the history of medical imaging, begun in 1895 with radiography. After simple "photographs" of the inside of the human body, providing information on the bone structure or the shape of the various organs, medical imaging today offers an unobstructed view of these same organs in the process of functioning and makes it possible to visualize cellular metabolism. It facilitates the study of many natural processes such as aging and the diagnosis of diseases (detection of cancer and certain neurodegenerative diseases). Multidisciplinary, medical imaging is at the interface with chemistry for tracers, biology to know the nature of the signals to be extracted, mathematics for the development of integrative biological models, SHS for the questions that arise from every person and society ... Now, these tools are essential to treat patients with greater efficiency.
Imaging modalities (in french)
Additional information
Medical imaging CNRS-web site
"Transparent body" (in french), 2003.
Special issue of CNRS publication (PDF in french here