Comparative Medicine Imaging (COM)

Overview of Services

The Comparative Medicine Imaging Core (Formerly Bioiluminescence Imaging Core)

The IVIS Lumina Series III Imaging System provides a non-invasive way to track and quantify bioluminescent and fluorescent signals in cells or in whole animals. Because the measurements do not involve sacrificing the animal, serial measurements or time courses can be obtained, and the response to multiple different treatments can be measured while minimizing inter-animal variability.   

The MSOT imaging system provides three-dimensional (3D) hybrid ultrasound and optoacoustic tomography; ultrasound images display structural/anatomical contrast and optoacoustic images display molecular optical contrast of deep tissue (whole mouse of about 1 inch thick) at ultrasonic resolution. In particular, high resolution mapping of optical contrast reveals the 3D distribution of endogenous molecules such as hemoglobin, melanin, bilirubin, lipids, water, and intravenously/intradermally injected exogenous contrast agents such as small molecule dyes (e.g., indocyanine green (ICG), IR800, methylene blue), fluorescent proteins (e.g., iRFP, GFP, YFP), and nanoparticles (e.g., gold, liposomes, carbon nanotubes). This new imaging device creates high-resolution images based on the measurement of acoustic waves, which are generated by the thermoelastic expansion of the medium surrounding these chromophores, triggered by a multispectral laser. The amplitude of these generated acoustic waves is determined by the optical absorption profile of the target chromophore, which is unique for each molecule and allows for functional molecular imaging. Because ultrasonic scattering is about two to three orders of magnitude weaker than optical scattering, it combines the high resolution and penetration depth of ultrasound with the high-contrast and multi-spectral capabilities of optical imaging.

The 7T small bore MRI is comprised of an actively shielded Bruker BioSpec 70/20 USR 7T system with the Bruker AVANCE Neo architecture and Paravision 360 V2.0 Software. This state-of-the-art scanner includes 2 transmit channels and can reach a spatial resolution of 25 microns. Additional capabilities can be found here (https://research.med.psu.edu/core-facilities/mri/). For further information or to book time, please contact the MRI facility manager at jvesek@pennstatehealth.psu.edu who manages all MRI bookings.

Equipment and Technology:

• IVIS Lumina LT Series III
• MSOT In-vision
• XGI-8 Anesthesia System
• XFOV-24 Lens
• 7T small bore MRI

Leadership

Raj Kothapalli, PhD | Interim Scientific Advisor szk416@psu.edu

Location and hours of operation IVIS and MSOT

Contacts