Small Animal Imaging

The Small Animal Imaging Center has two IVIS Spectrum imaging machines that perform 2D and 3D optical tomography, with resolutions up to 20 microns, making fluorescence and/or bioluminescence imaging of infectious or non-infections models possible without risking exposure and cross-contamination. The IVIS Spectrum can operate in reflectance or transillumination mode when performing fluorescence imaging and contains 28 filters to provide numerous options regardless of the mode selected (bioluminescence or fluorescence). The newest IVIS Spectrum can image up to 10 mice at a time, allowing for streamlined data collection and analysis.

The IVIS can be booked in 15-minute increments.

The Quantum GX2 microCT provides access to high-speed computed tomography. The microCT is equipped with changeable x-ray filters, variable bore sizes, and allows reconstruction in matrices of 512 x 512 or 1024 x 1024 in four different fields of view (18, 36, 72, and 86 mm) with the highest resolution achieving a 2.3-micron voxel size. Due to the changeable bore sizes and sample beds, a wide range of animal models can be used.  The instrument also provides the capacity for additional sub-volume reconstruction to bring the regions of interest into sharper focus. In vivo imaging is made easy with options of cardiac or respiratory gating to minimize motion artifacts while high-speed parameters can enable image volume capture in as little as 3.9 seconds. An animal shuttle is accessible to researchers allowing for co-registration between microCT images and IVIS Spectrum bioluminescence and fluorescence images providing the ability to combine the capabilities between the two instruments.

The microCT can be booked in 30-minute increments.

The TriTom Photoacoustic and Fluorescence Imaging Platform affords researchers the ability to conduct volumetric 3D imaging with the capacity for simultaneous fluorescence imaging through a tunable laser.  Imaging resolutions of up to 160 x 470 micron are possible in the sagittal plane with up to 160 x 160 micron in the transverse planes allowing for close inspection whether imaging is focused on anatomical, functional, or molecular processes. In vivo imaging is performed in a temperature-controlled chamber and scan times of as little as 36 seconds allow for time effective throughput for researchers with multiple subjects. Should the focus be more aligned with contrast agent development, the cuvette sample holder can contain up to 10 contrast agents at a time to allow for rapid testing at various wavelengths. 

The TriTom can be booked in 30-minute increments.