Human Touch for High-Tech Imaging and Imaging-Guided Procedures Integrative Medicine Strategies for Patient-Centered Nonpharmacologic Approaches: Part 2: Overcoming Anxiety in Imaging and Invasive Procedures: What can Physics, Technology, and Integrative Medicine Do for Us?

Abstract

T he central theme of this Special Edition is to address and manage patients’ anxiety with nonpharmacologic and noninvasive approaches during imaging studies and imaging-guided procedures. These procedures are commonly viewed as ‘‘high-tech’’ because of their advanced, complex technologies that in turn can be intimidating, uncomfortable, and unfamiliar to many patients. Advanced procedures often demand a high degree of patient cooperation in order to achieve their intended objective of delivering highquality care. Not infrequently, invasive and pharmacologic means are required to ensure patients’ cooperation during the imaging and imaging-guided procedures. In this Special Edition, we provide a succinct overview of the experience using various integrative medicine strategies of noninvasive and nonpharmacologic approaches for diagnostic imaging and image-guided therapy, and their efficacy and mode of action, including psychology and neuroscience perspective. We envision the Special Edition’s focus on integrative medicine approaches to bring together, in an ‘‘integrative’’ and multi-disciplinary way, both advanced technologies and patient-centered integrative health and psychology concepts to optimize the success of advanced diagnostic imaging studies and imaging-guided therapies. This is relevant and innovative and may offer insights beyond conventional wisdom and beyond the scope of many current scientific and medical journals. This Special Edition consists of 2 parts that both support its central theme with slightly different focus in terms of the relative emphasis of their constituent articles. The recently published Part 1 has discussed the challenges for high-tech imaging and related