Table 5.
Visual assessment of the performance of the main imaging types in different categories, such as applicability to humans and sensitivity.
| Human use | Sensitivity | Longitudinal | Quantitative | Radioactivity | Probes in parallel | Availability | Cost | Imaging time | Labels (cells) | Resolution | Depth | Patient comfort | Operator skill | Whole body | Background | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPECT | ||||||||||||||||
| PET | ||||||||||||||||
| Ultrasound | ||||||||||||||||
| Optoacoustic | ||||||||||||||||
| 1H MRI | ||||||||||||||||
| 19F MRI | ||||||||||||||||
| Optical |
Adapted from [123,127]; note that assessment may change over time, as technologies are continually evolving. Color coding: green indicates a “good” or “high” rating, yellow “intermediate” and red “poor” or “low.” This is an approximate indication, as actual performance will depend on a combination of multiple factors, such as the application, setting and imaging parameters.