Table 1.

Pros and cons of individual and combined imaging modalities used in molecular imaging and discussed within this review.

Imaging Modality	Information	Advantages	Disadvantages
MRI	Anatomical	High spatial resolution, no tissue penetration limit	Low sensitivity, long imaging time
Optical imaging	Molecular	High sensitivity, fast acquisition, low cost	Poor spatial resolution, small penetration depth
CT	Anatomical	High spatial resolution, strong penetration depth, fast acquisition	Radiation risk
PET	Molecular	High sensitivity, strong penetration depth	Poor spatial resolution, radiation risk
SPECT	Molecular	High sensitivity, strong penetration depth	Poor spatial resolution, radiation risk
US	Anatomical	High sensitivity, low cost, fast acquisition	Poor spatial resolution
MRI–optical imaging	Anatomical/molecular	High sensitivity, high spatial resolution, no tissue penetration limit	High cost
MRI–CT	Anatomical	High spatial resolution, no tissue penetration limit	Radiation risk, high cost, low sensitivity
MRI–PET/SPECT	Anatomical/molecular	High spatial resolution, high sensitivity, no tissue penetration limit	Radiation risk, high cost
MRI–US	Anatomical	High spatial resolution, no tissue penetration limit, high sensitivity	High cost