Tomographic imaging has become a mandatory tool for the diagnosis of a majority of diseases in clinical routine. Since each method has its pros and cons, a variety of methods is regularly used in the clinics to satisfy all application needs. Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is a relatively new tomographic imaging technique that images magnetic nanoparticles with high spatio-temporal resolution in a quantitative way and in turn is highly suited for vascular and targeted imaging. MPI has been introduced in 2005 and now enters the preclinical research phase, where medical researcher get access to this new technology and exploit the potential under physiological conditions. Within this paper we review the development of MPI since its introduction in 2005. Beside an in depth description of the basic principle, we provide detailed discussions on imaging sequences, reconstruction algorithms, scanner instrumentation, and potential medical applications.
