The development of molecular imaging in China

The development of molecular imaging in China

In the past hundred years, the main driving force of medical imaging development has come from physics and computer science. Since the 21st century, the main factors in the development of imaging medical imaging will be genomics and biochemistry. With the completion of human genome sequencing and the deepening of research in genes and proteomics, modern medicine based on cytopathology is gradually developing towards molecular medicine. As a bridge connecting molecular biology and clinical medicine, molecular imaging will become the development trend and leading of medical imaging in the 21st century. Compared with classical medical imaging, molecular imaging is unique – early diagnosis will also have a revolutionary impact on modern and future medical models.

In the last decade, molecular imaging has grown at an alarming rate. Internationally renowned universities such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Oxford University have successively established molecular imaging research centers, and have achieved fruitful research results. Foreign scholars have applied molecular imaging technology to conduct in-depth research on the tissue phenotype, enzyme activity and gene expression of diseases. At the cellular level, molecular imaging of live-labeled cells has been successfully used to monitor the migration and differentiation of transplanted stem cells in vivo during inflammatory cell infiltration and cell transplantation. At the molecular level, by dynamically identifying the genes that are specifically recognized by the target tissue and binding to the target tissue, the occurrence and development of the disease can be dynamically observed, and multiple biological events can be simultaneously monitored and studied in time and space. These processes include: abnormal cell metabolism, abnormal expression of cell surface receptors, abnormal enzyme activity, apoptosis, tumor angiogenesis, etc.; at the genetic level, the application of reporter genes (including dual reporter genes and multiple reporter genes) imaging can be indirectly reflected The expression of the target gene has successfully achieved the in vivo monitoring of the gene therapy process and applied to the study of tumor occurrence, growth, metastasis and other characteristics.

China has only begun research on molecular imaging since 2002. The 194th Xiangshan Science Conference, held in Hangzhou in October 2002 with the theme of “Molecular Imaging”, conducted extensive exchanges and discussions on the research status, future development direction and significance of molecular imaging. The meeting also showed that the country began to gradually recognize the importance of molecular imaging and our gap with the international. Although the scholars attending this conference come from a number of disciplines with a large span, there are few medical imaging experts who can see the limitations of this conference.

In April 2004, the first international molecular imaging seminar was held in Harbin, which was based on domestic famous medical imaging experts. The latest developments in related disciplines were deeply exchanged and reached the following consensus: (1) Molecules Imaging is a new interdisciplinary subject with great development potential. The majority of video workers should understand the frontier of this subject as soon as possible and carry out related research work. (2) Compared with developed countries, molecular imaging studies There is a big gap in the field, but molecular imaging is a new subject, and there are many research gaps. This provides an opportunity for us to quickly choose to study entry points. If we grasp the opportunity in time, we will catch up; (3) to construct molecular images. Develop a platform to promote exchanges between domestic and international and interdisciplinary, strengthen cooperation, and jointly promote the rapid development of molecular imaging in China. Since then, molecular imaging research has attracted widespread attention in China. At present, he has also achieved certain results. Under the leadership of Prof. Tian Jie, a researcher at the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, domestic researchers have taken the lead in overcoming the international difficulties in molecular imaging and proposed a non-homogeneous algorithm, which makes foreign experts and scholars all clap. In recent years, there have been more and more scholars dedicated to this aspect of research, but the actual work results are limited. Compared with the rapid development of molecular imaging in the world, there is still a certain gap.

In order to shorten the gap between the molecular imaging field and the international community, and to unite more scholars in different fields to exchange learning, on June 18, 2011, the first "Molecular Imaging Professional Committee Inaugural Meeting" hosted by the Molecular Imaging Professional Committee of the Chinese Biophysical Society The first academic committee and molecular imaging summit of the Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging was successfully held at the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The conference was initiated by Prof. Tian Jie, a researcher at the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. More than 150 experts and scholars from various scientific fields attended the conference. The theme of the conference was “Building a Molecular Imaging Platform to Promote Cooperative Research and Application” and discussed molecular imaging research. And application. The committee elected members of the committee. Professor Zhu Jie, the chief scientist of molecular imaging research in China and the chief scientist of Guangzhou Zhongke Yusheng Medical Technology Co., Ltd., was elected as the chairman of the committee. In addition, Professor Bai Jing from Tsinghua University, Professor Wang Fan from Peking University Medical College, and Central South University Xiang Professor Cao Ya from Ya College of Medicine, Prof. Qi Fabao from Huaxi Hospital and Professor Jin Zhengyu from Peking Union Medical College Hospital and other 44 experts and scholars in the field of molecular imaging served as deputy directors. The Molecular Imaging Professional Committee initiated by Professor Tian Jie is also a breakthrough measure for the domestic molecular imaging community. If the research institutions in the field of domestic molecular imaging research were independent, then now it is a gathering of sand and towering, and win-win cooperation. Molecular imaging is a comprehensive discipline. Its development requires the organic integration of knowledge in various disciplines, and it requires the cooperation of experts and scholars in various fields. It can be said that the convening of this conference has brought an opportunity for the development of domestic molecular imaging and has greatly promoted it.

In addition to the great influence of academics, the convening of the first national molecular imaging professional committee has greatly promoted the industrialization of molecular imaging technology in China, prompting more experts and scholars to understand the molecular imaging equipment independently developed by China. This conference will certainly promote the participation of China's molecular imaging research in global competition and cooperation on a larger scale and deeper level. It will form a scientific research platform for molecular imaging in China, promote the localization of the core technology of medical imaging equipment, and seize the molecular image. The scientific commanding heights of the field are of strategic importance.