Disclosed herein is a technique for performing medical imaging on a region of interest (ROI) wherein information theoretic signal receivers are used to enhance the detection and monitoring of pathologies such as angiogenesis and muscular dystrophy. Examples of information theoretic signal receivers that can be used in the practice of the invention include Shannon entropy signal receivers, continuous limit Shannon entropy signal receivers, Renyi entropy signal receivers, specific heat analog signal receivers, and thermodynamic energy analog signal receivers. The contrast enhancement provided by contrast agents, either targeted contrast agents or bubble-based contrast agents, is enhanced through the use of such information theoretic signal receivers. Further still, the contrast agents can be heated to further enhance visualization with information theoretic signal receivers.