Future directions in pulmonary imaging

The next 5-10 years promise a continuation of the enormous excitement we have experienced over the past 10-20 years in pulmonary imaging. In each case, advancements in technology have been or will be applied to the analysis of disease processes in ways previously unimagined. At this point, the major pathways to the future seem to lie in more complete implementation of digital imaging of the thorax, which will be accomplished through the perfection of digital detector systems and which will allow more spectacular display and more accurate analysis of underlying morphometry. Potentially even more exciting is the opportunity to evaluate metabolic function and to establish tissue specificity through tissue-specific radionuclides and/or the application of MR spectroscopy to tissue and organ analysis. © RSNA, 1998.