The main objective of the Action is the development of metal-based imaging probes for cellular and molecular imaging applications, based on MRI, PET, SPECT and optical imaging that will facilitate early diagnosis, assessment of disease progression and treatment evaluation. The goal of this Action is to further the development of innovative imaging probes through the pursuit of innovations in a number of different areas, ranging from the design of imaging units endowed with enhanced sensitivity to the control of the structural and electronic determinants responsible for the molecular recognition of the target molecule. At present, in vivo diagnostic systems basically assess the structure and function of human organs. Therefore, for important diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular pathologies, and also diseases of the central nervous system, only the late symptoms are detected. It is expected that the advances in genomics and proteomics will have a tremendous impact on human health care of the future. However, advances in molecular biology are already redefining diseases in terms of molecular abnormalities. With this knowledge, new generations of diagnostic imaging agents can be defined that aim at the detection of those molecular processes in vivo. The molecular imaging approach offers a great potential for earlier detection and characterisation of disease, and evaluation of treatment. However, more research is necessary to bring these ideas to clinical applications and a key aspect relates to the development of high-specificity, high-sensitivity imaging probes for the different detection modalities. Additionally, the Action includes research activities dealing with the exploitation of peculiar nuclear properties of given isotopes for therapeutic effects, thus integrating the diagnostic and the therapeutic stages. Apart from its use in early diagnosis in clinical practice, the molecular imaging approach will have also a major impact on the development of new pharmaceuticals. The regulatory agencies indicate that the use of ‘surrogate or bio-markers’ can accelerate drug approval procedures. Molecular imaging can be considered as such a bio-marker, since it has great potential to make better predictions on the effectiveness and toxicity of drugs. Therefore, the development of this field will not only enable early diagnosis, but will also significantly increase the availability and ‘speed to market’ of new drugs.
