The Convergence of Big Data and Nuclear Medicine: Ushering in a New Era of Personalized Healthcare
The Convergence of Big Data and Nuclear Medicine: Ushering in a New Era of Personalized Healthcare Introduction Theranostics—a groundbreaking approach that integrates both diagnosis and therapy through a single molecular ligand —has emerged as a transformative innovation in nuclear medicine. Recognized as a future cornerstone of oncology, theranostics is more than a clinical breakthrough; it demands a robust informatics infrastructure to support its complex, data-intensive workflows. In this article, we explore how medical imaging informatics is accelerating the development of theranostics and enabling a new paradigm of personalized, data-driven medicine. 1. What Is Theranostics? The term theranostics merges therapy and diagnostics , referring to a strategy that uses a single radiolabeled ligand to both identify and treat disease . This dual capability is most commonly deployed through PET (Positron Emission Tomography) or SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomogr...