Cardiovascular molecular imaging demonstrates an enormous potential to
promote the understanding of pathophysiology, risk stratification, therapy monitoring
and treatment of heart failure. Applications of molecular imaging in the field of stem
cell and gene therapy constitute the only way to investigate their mechanisms of action
and adequately evaluate the equivocal clinical results, obtained from human trials at the
initial steps of transforming these experimental strategies into therapeutic options, with
clear benefits for the patients. In this chapter, the principles and methods of molecular
imaging will be presented, focusing on its current status regarding clinical applications
in the field of heart failure research, and stem cell and gene therapies, in particular.
Finally, we will attempt to present the potential of these promising imaging techniques,
which advance in parallel with the transition of stem cell and gene therapy from the
research laboratory to the clinical setting of heart failure management.
Keywords: Cell therapy, Gene therapy, Heart failure, Imaging, Molecular,
Optical imaging, Positron emission tomography, Single photon emission
computed tomography, Tracking, Ultrasound imaging.