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PET Blog 1
Posted by admin on 07/04/2009
In the field of molecular imaging, in-vivo preclinical imaging has become increasingly important to academic researchers...and especially to those involved in the drug development process
Recent improvements in the Molecular Imaging technologies employed to image small animals are helping to generate better data, and at a more prodigious rate than ever!
In the past, mouse & rat models of Human Disease are usually studied using invasive techniques, which sacrifice the animal. Although these techniques are well established, there are several major disadvantages to this approach:
- A large number of animals is necessary in order for a study to achieve statistical significance
- Follow-up or longitudinal studies are generally not possible on the same animal
- Metabolism studies, for efficacy, are difficult to obtain
- A large amount of economic and labor resources is required
However, over the past few years, in vivo Imaging Systems for small animals have become increasingly popular,including:
- X-ray micro CT (computed tomography)
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)Microscopy
- Ultrasound
- Micro-PET (positron emission tomography)
- Micro-SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography)
- Optical (luminescence & fluorescence)
Of these technologies, only the Nuclear Imaging Modalities (PET & SPECT) can provide the sensitivities required to obtain the same physiological imaging acuity in small animals as can be obtained from humans.
These modalities greatly facilitate the translation of preclinical studies to applications in the clinic!
Micro-PET and Micro-SPECT devices are complementary tools for imaging small animals. Each modality has important advantages and shortcomings
Micro-PET:
- Best suited for small molecules and molecules with fast assay kinetics
- Higher sensitivity (3-4% on average)
- Strong quantitation
- Sensitivity and resolution nonuniform throughout imaging chamber
- Expensive tracers with short half-lives, lower specific activity
- Subject receives 5-10x radiation dose of SPECT
Micro-SPECT:
- Best suited to larger molocules and molecules with slow assay kinetics
- Lower sensitivity (0.3-0.4%)
- Strong quantitation
- Near-uniform sensitivity and resolution throughout imaging chamber
- Many inexpensive tracers with longer half-lives, higher specific activity
- Lower radiation dose (except for I-125)
- More attenuation in large subjects
Overall, researchers investigating a wide variety of targets and mechanisms of action will likely want access to both of these technologies to evaluate candidate absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicology characteristics.
Bioscan’s dual-modality NanoSPECT/CT and NanoPET/CT systems offer unparalleled detection sensitivity and image resolution!
Now researchers can image animals as small as mice and rats with the same visual acuity as humans, enabling the direct translation of tracers, imaging protocols and research results from small animal models into the clinic.
- Using patented Multiplexed Multi-Pinhole SPECT (MMP-SPECT) technology, NanoSPECT/CT obtains images from up to 64 pinholes simultaneously—thus creating tomographic images with submillimeter resolution much faster...and with less injected tracer activity
- Using 2X the crystal density of any other preclinical PET system, NanoPET/CT's tightly packed arrays of high pixel density LYSO detectors product quantitative PET results of unparalleled quality
Both systems fuse the functional SPECT or PET images with X-ray CT at a level of image clarity and detail never seen before.
The results obtained so far from leading researchers around the world…prove that we’re taking preclinical molecular imaging to a new level of performance! (visit www.spect-ct.com)
Posted by admin on 07/04/2009
In the field of molecular imaging, in-vivo preclinical imaging has become increasingly important to academic researchers...and especially to those involved in the drug development process
Recent improvements in the Molecular Imaging technologies employed to image small animals are helping to generate better data, and at a more prodigious rate than ever!
In the past, mouse & rat models of Human Disease are usually studied using invasive techniques, which sacrifice the animal. Although these techniques are well established, there are several major disadvantages to this approach:
- A large number of animals is necessary in order for a study to achieve statistical significance
- Follow-up or longitudinal studies are generally not possible on the same animal
- Metabolism studies, for efficacy, are difficult to obtain
- A large amount of economic and labor resources is required
However, over the past few years, in vivo Imaging Systems for small animals have become increasingly popular,including:
- X-ray micro CT (computed tomography)
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)Microscopy
- Ultrasound
- Micro-PET (positron emission tomography)
- Micro-SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography)
- Optical (luminescence & fluorescence)
Of these technologies, only the Nuclear Imaging Modalities (PET & SPECT) can provide the sensitivities required to obtain the same physiological imaging acuity in small animals as can be obtained from humans.
These modalities greatly facilitate the translation of preclinical studies to applications in the clinic!
Micro-PET and Micro-SPECT devices are complementary tools for imaging small animals. Each modality has important advantages and shortcomings
Micro-PET:
- Best suited for small molecules and molecules with fast assay kinetics
- Higher sensitivity (3-4% on average)
- Strong quantitation
- Sensitivity and resolution nonuniform throughout imaging chamber
- Expensive tracers with short half-lives, lower specific activity
- Subject receives 5-10x radiation dose of SPECT
Micro-SPECT:
- Best suited to larger molocules and molecules with slow assay kinetics
- Lower sensitivity (0.3-0.4%)
- Strong quantitation
- Near-uniform sensitivity and resolution throughout imaging chamber
- Many inexpensive tracers with longer half-lives, higher specific activity
- Lower radiation dose (except for I-125)
- More attenuation in large subjects
Overall, researchers investigating a wide variety of targets and mechanisms of action will likely want access to both of these technologies to evaluate candidate absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicology characteristics.
Bioscan’s dual-modality NanoSPECT/CT and NanoPET/CT systems offer unparalleled detection sensitivity and image resolution!
Now researchers can image animals as small as mice and rats with the same visual acuity as humans, enabling the direct translation of tracers, imaging protocols and research results from small animal models into the clinic.
- Using patented Multiplexed Multi-Pinhole SPECT (MMP-SPECT) technology, NanoSPECT/CT obtains images from up to 64 pinholes simultaneously—thus creating tomographic images with submillimeter resolution much faster...and with less injected tracer activity
- Using 2X the crystal density of any other preclinical PET system, NanoPET/CT's tightly packed arrays of high pixel density LYSO detectors product quantitative PET results of unparalleled quality
Both systems fuse the functional SPECT or PET images with X-ray CT at a level of image clarity and detail never seen before.
The results obtained so far from leading researchers around the world…prove that we’re taking preclinical molecular imaging to a new level of performance! (visit www.spect-ct.com)
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