imaging

1 of 2

noun

im·​ag·​ing ˈi-mi-jiŋ 

: the action or process of using specialized techniques (such as ultrasound, tomography, or radiography) to produce an image of something that is not visible to the naked eye (such as internal bodily organs or the Earth's subsurface)

Brain imaging of patients with vascular dementia typically show small strokes or poor blood supply deep in the brain, at the natural terminal … of the blood vessel.

—Renee Meyer

Buried under sand, the layout of a city some 4,000 years old has been revealed before anyone lifted a trowel. To build the map of [the city], … archaeologists used geomagnetic imaging, which measures Earth's magnetic force.

—National Geographic

—often used before another noun

imaging equipment

a thermal imaging camera

A computed tomography scan … is an imaging test that lets doctors see inside a person's body.

—NBCNews.com

see also magnetic resonance imaging

imaging

2 of 2

present participle of image

Examples of imaging in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The study used a new technology, an imaging spectrometer, which measures electromagnetic radiation to detect and measure processes in the Earth’s atmosphere, to collect data on methane emissions from 20% of the country’s largest landfills. —Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 22 May 2024

Staff have to do everything by hand, including writing down orders for medication, imaging, and labs, which have to be delivered on foot to other departments. —Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 22 May 2024

Bergmann, who graduated from the University of Florida with honors and became a CPA, founded a diagnostic imaging business and a laboratory testing company. —Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 21 May 2024

Health care workers at Ascension Wisconsin hospitals have reported longer wait times in emergency rooms and long delays in completing scans and imaging. —Sarah Volpenhein, Journal Sentinel, 14 May 2024

The researchers said better coordination among healthcare providers for exams, lab work, imaging, etc., could ease that burden, and so could greater reliance on telemedicine. —Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2024

But significant developments in brain imaging have revolutionized our ability to watch the brain transform on a cellular, genetic, and even molecular level. —Dr. James R. Doty, TIME, 7 May 2024

Wagner said that while brain imaging can illustrate which parts of the brain are active, for example, when people listen to music and feel frisson, medical scans fail to fully explain why the experience is enjoyable. —Katie Lauer, The Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2024

The accolades arrived at an auspicious moment for Belgian manufacturer, as the optical imaging specialist now celebrates its 90th anniversary while seeing its imprint on the film world ever expand. —Ben Croll, Variety, 15 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

image entry 2 + -ing entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1921, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing imaging

• functional magnetic resonance imaging
• magnetic resonance imaging

Medical Definition

imaging

noun

: the action or process of using specialized techniques (such as ultrasound, tomography, or radiography) to produce an image especially of an internal body part or organ

advances in clinical diagnostic imaging

Brain imaging has identified numerous regions of altered structure or activity in the brain during major depression, suggesting disordered neurocircuitry in a variety of structures …

—J. John Mann, The New England Journal of Medicine

—often used before another noun

imaging modalities

The advent of rapid imaging techniques has made magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) an attractive technology in the evaluation of pulmonary vascular disorders.

—Eric G. Honig et al., Scientific American Medical Bulletin

see also magnetic resonance imaging