The application of medical images in pharmacy

Abstract

Introduction: The development of medical imaging methods offers nowadays essential tools not only for early diagnosis of diseases, as well as in supporting the therapy, in concrete with regard to planning and monitoring. The techniques considered include the areas of Radiology (CT, MRI and fMRI) and Nuclear Medicine (PET), with a view to understand, mainly, its relationship to the Pharmacy area. CT (Computer Tomography) allows the creation of high-definition bi and three-dimensional anatomical images as a result of submitting the human body to x-rays that cross the tissues in multiple directions. This technique can involve the use of pharmaceutical drugs as contrast agents. MRI (Magnetic Ressonance Imaging) subjects individuals to magnetic fields and radio frequency pulses and allows to get precise information about the anatomical structure. fMRI (functional Magnetic Ressonance Imaging) makes it possible to obtain information about brain function from the study of changes in blood flow and oxygenation. Nuclear Medicine techniques use radiopharmaceuticals (composed of a radionuclide and a drug) that are mainly used for medical diagnosis, but also, in some cases, for therapy. Using the technique of PET (Positron Emission Tomography) is possible, for example, to study the metabolism of glucose, associating the radionuclide Fluor to glucose, and thus assess the evolution of tumors. Materials and methods: A research paper work was conducted in order to identify and evaluate the relationship between the field of Pharmacy and the application and operation of various medical imaging techniques. Application examples are given and it is explored, in particular, the integration of information from different techniques (hybrid or multimodal imaging). Results: Duff and collaborators [1] show how reliable associations between drug-related activity modulations and drug efficacy can be identified using fMRI, in particular concerning analgesics (pain medication). Domingos Vieira and colleagues [2] show the hybrid PET-MRI system high potential in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, especially in case of Alzheimer’s disease in which are used radiopharmaceuticals marked with 18F, in order to identify the amyloid plaques formed and to evaluate the use of glucose by the brain. Sawicki and collaborators [3] show the high diagnostic potential of 18F-FDG PET-MRI system in patients with breast cancer, in comparison with 18F-FDG PET-CT system, MRI, and CT techniques. Discussion and conclusions: Imaging techniques are powerful with regard to early diagnosis of various diseases, as well as in the therapy assessment and have a close relationship with the area of the Pharmacy. The use of hybrid systems presents typically advantage over the use of separate techniques.