The highest amount of detail that can be shown in an image. Defined by the size of the smallest object that can be conveniently viewed, which for nanofocus and microfocus x-ray tubes is about half the size of the focal spot.

Imaging refers to the visual representation of an object. Today, diagnostic imaging uses radiology and other techniques, mostly noninvasive, to create pictures of the human body. Diagnostic radiography studies the anatomy and physiology to diagnose an array of medical conditions. The history of medical diagnostic imaging is in many ways the history of radiology. Many imaging techniques also have scientific and industrial applications. Diagnostic imaging in its widest sense is part of biological science and may include medical photography, microscopy and techniques which are not primarily designed to produce images (e.g., electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography).
Brief overview about important developments:
Imaging used for medical purposes, began after the discovery of x-rays by Konrad Roentgen 1896. The first fifty years of radiological imaging, pictures have been created by focusing x-rays on the examined body part and direct depiction onto a single piece of film inside a special cassette.
In the 1950s, first nuclear medicine studies showed the up-take of very low-level radioactive chemicals in organs, using special gamma cameras. This diagnostic imaging technology allows information of biologic processes in vivo. Today, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) play an important role in both clinical research and diagnosis of biochemical and physiologic processes.
In the 1960s, the principals of sonar were applied to diagnostic imaging. Ultrasound has been imported into practically every area of medicine as an important diagnostic tool, and there are great opportunities for its further development. Looking into the future, the grand challenges include targeted contrast imaging, real-time 3D or 4D ultrasound, and molecular imaging. The earliest use of ultrasound contrast agents (USCA) was in 1968.
The introduction of computed tomography (CT/CAT) in the 1970s revolutionized medical imaging with cross sectional images of the human body and high contrast between different types of soft tissues. These developments were made possible by analog to digital converters and computers. First, spiral CT (also called helical), then multislice CT (or multi-detector row CT) technology expanded the clinical applications dramatically.
The first magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices were tested on clinical patients in 1980. With technological improvements including higher field strength, more open MRI magnets, faster gradient systems, and novel data-acquisition techniques, MRI is a real-time interactive imaging modality that provides both detailed structural and functional information of the body.

Today, imaging in medicine has been developed to a stage that was inconceivable a century ago, with growing modalities:
x-ray projection imaging, including conventional radiography and digital radiography;
All these types of scans are an integral part of modern healthcare. Usually, a radiologist interprets the images. Most clinical studies are acquired by a radiographer or radiologic technologist. In filmless, digital radiology departments all images are acquired and stored on computers. Because of the rapid development of digital imaging modalities, the increasing need for an efficient management leads to the widening of radiology information systems (RIS) and archival of images in digital form in a picture archiving and communication system (PACS). In telemedicine, medical images of MRI scans, x-ray examinations, CT scans and ultrasound pictures are transmitted in real time.

See also Interventional Radiology, Image Quality and CT Scanner.

(EMR) Electromagnetic radiation consists of an electric and a magnetic field component. All EMR travels in a vacuum at the speed of light. EMR is classified related to the frequency//length of the wave.
An EM wave consists of discrete packets of energy, named photons (quantization). The energy of the photons depends on the frequency of the wave. Planck-Einstein equation:
E = h * f
E (energy); h (Planck's constant); f (frequency)
EMR types include in order of increasing frequency//decreasing wavelength: radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, x-rays and gamma rays. EMR contains energy and momentum, which may be imparted when it interacts with matter.

See Gamma Radiation.

The France-based Guerbet Group is highly specialized in contrast media for medical imaging. Its strategic goal is to be a key player in this market. Guerbet Group produces products for x-ray imaging, MRI, ultrasound imaging and imaging through radioactive tracers.

(kg) The base SI unit of mass of the metric system.
Definition: 1 kilogram is defined as the mass of the standard kilogram, a platinum-iridium bar in the custody of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) near Paris, France.
A traditional unit of mass or weight is also the pound (in general use, e.g. in the United States and Great Britain), with the symbol lb (derived from the Latin word libra).

1 kg = 2.204627 pound (lb. av., lbs.)
1 pound (lb. av., lbs.) = 0.453 kg.

Smaller units are, e.g.
1 000 gram (g) = 1 kg
1 000 milligram (mg) = 1 g
1 000 microgram (µg) = 1 mg