Recent advances in multimodal imaging of infections: research highlights using Nuclear-Optical imaging

Multimodal imaging using hybrid imaging agents is a promising strategy for diagnosing and evaluating pathologies after image-guided surgical interventions. Combining optical and radioactive imaging techniques provides a comprehensive approach to monitoring and diagnosing infections, which would be more effective than routine nuclear clinical tracers for SPECT or PET imaging, thereby enabling more effective treatment as in image-guided surgery. This review summarizes the latest developments in hybrid imaging agents and vectors for radioactive and optical imaging of bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. We pinpoint the pitfalls in the current preclinical landscape for developing infection imaging tracers. Besides diagnosing and tracking pathogens, the role of optical imaging in diagnosing and aiding antimicrobial interventions, including image-guided surgery, is discussed. Finally, practical considerations are addressed for multimodal workflow challenges in preclinical infection imaging with hybrid tracers.