The Molecular Imaging and Contrast Agent Database (MICAD) is an online source of scientific information regarding molecular imaging and contrast agents (under development, in clinical trials or commercially available for medical applications) that have in vivo data (animal or human) published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. MICAD is a key component of the “Molecular Libraries and Imaging” program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund (formerly NIH Roadmap), that encompasses a set of major inter-agency initiatives designed to accelerate medical research for disease detection, diagnosis and therapy. By linking programs in molecular imaging, molecular probes, and molecular libraries, the NIH Common Fund provides much needed support for the development of new, more specific therapies for a wide range of diseases such as cancers, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. MICAD is edited by a team of scientific editors and curators who are based at the National Library of Medicine, NIH, in Bethesda, Maryland. This program is under the guidance of a trans-NIH panel of experts in the field.
The database includes, but is not limited to, agents developed for positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), optical imaging, planar radiography, and planar gamma imaging. The information on each agent is summarized in a book chapter format containing several sections such as Background, Synthesis, in vitro studies, Animal Studies (with sub-sections: rodents, other non-human primate animals, and human primates), Human Studies, and References. In addition, the references are linked to PubMed for retrieval of the publication abstract. Also, each chapter contains links to resources at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and other relevant databases regarding the target of the imaging probe or contrast agent.