Cell death is desirable in cancer cells and undesirable in organs with limited regenerative potential, like the heart. Cell death comes in many forms, but only apoptosis and to a lesser degree necrosis is currently relevant to the clinical imager. Noninvasive imaging of cell death is an attractive option to understand pathophysiology, track disease activity, and evaluate response to intervention. Apoptosis seems to be the most promising target for imaging cell death, because it could be reversible and might be modulated with interventions. Molecular, nuclear, optical, or magnetic resonance imaging–based methods have been developed to identify intermediate steps in the apoptosis cascade. Animal studies show promising results for noninvasive imaging in various cardiovascular diseases. Human studies have shown feasibility, but clinical use is yet inconclusive. Newer technologies offer promise, especially for tracking apoptosis in evaluation of novel therapeutic interventions.

细胞死亡在癌细胞中是理想的，而在再生能力有限的器官（如心脏）中则是不可取的。细胞死亡有多种形式，但目前只有凋亡和较小程度的坏死与临床成像仪有关。细胞死亡的无创成像是了解病理生理学，追踪疾病活动并评估对干预的反应的一种有吸引力的选择。细胞凋亡似乎是对细胞死亡进行成像的最有希望的靶标，因为它可能是可逆的并且可能通过干预来调节。已经开发了基于分子，核，光学或磁共振成像的方法来鉴定凋亡级联反应的中间步骤。动物研究显示在各种心血管疾病中进行无创成像的有希望的结果。人体研究显示出可行性，但临床使用尚无定论。较新的技术提供了希望，特别是在评估新的治疗干预措施中追踪细胞凋亡方面。