Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in developed countries. The aetiology is currently multifactorial, thus making them very difficult to prevent. Preclinical models of atherothrombotic diseases, including vulnerable plaque-associated complications, are now providing significant insights into pathologies like atherosclerosis, and in combination with the most recent advances in new non-invasive imaging technologies, they have become essential tools to evaluate new therapeutic strategies, with which can forecast and prevent plaque rupture. Positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography imaging is currently used for plaque visualisation in clinical and pre-clinical cardiovascular research, albeit with significant limitations. However, the combination of PET and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies is still the best option available today, as combined PET/MRI scans provide simultaneous data acquisition together with high quality anatomical information, sensitivity and lower radiation exposure for the patient. The coming years may represent a new era for the implementation of PET/MRI in clinical practice, but first, clinically efficient attenuation correction algorithms and research towards multimodal reagents and safety issues should be validated at the preclinical level.

中文翻译：

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动脉粥样硬化的临床前模型。用于早期检测易损斑块的混合 PET/MR 技术的未来

在发达国家，心血管疾病是导致死亡的主要原因。病因目前是多因素的，因此很难预防。动脉粥样硬化血栓形成疾病的临床前模型，包括易损斑块相关并发症，现在正在为动脉粥样硬化等病理提供重要见解，并且结合新的非侵入性成像技术的最新进展，它们已成为评估新治疗策略的重要工具，可以预测和预防斑块破裂。正电子发射断层扫描 (PET)/计算机断层扫描成像目前用于临床和临床前心血管研究中的斑块可视化，尽管有很大的局限性。然而，PET 和磁共振成像 (MRI) 技术的结合仍然是当今可用的最佳选择，因为结合的 PET/MRI 扫描可以同时采集数据，同时为患者提供高质量的解剖信息、灵敏度和较低的辐射暴露。未来几年可能代表在临床实践中实施 PET/MRI 的新时代，但首先，临床上有效的衰减校正算法和对多模式试剂和安全问题的研究应在临床前水平上得到验证。