Recent advances in visualizing vulnerable plaque: focus on noninvasive molecular imaging.

Traditional imaging methods in atherosclerosis have focused primarily on anatomic information. Imaging approaches that visualize molecular targets rather than anatomic structures may emphasize biologic aspects of atherosclerosis. Molecular imaging of atherosclerotic lesions has become a crucial experimental tool and is now emerging in the clinical arena. In this review, we briefly highlight the rationale and fundamental principles of molecular imaging. We then discuss the promising imaging modalities, along with their potential limitations, and the molecular targets being investigated in experimental research. Finally, we summarize the most important clinical studies recently performed in humans.