In Vivo Imaging Instruments

3D optical and microCT data – The power of multimodality imaging

Surfactant Protein B (SP-B) deficiency is an uncommon, autosomal recessive lung disorder in term infants. This inability to produce SP-B leads to progressive, lethal, hypoxemic respiratory failure in the first year of life. The current standard of care is a lung transplant although rare due to availability of prenatal donor lungs. A compelling argument exists for gene therapy to treat this disease, as de novo protein synthesis of SP-B in alveolar type 2 epithelial cells is required for proper surfactant production. Learn how researchers designed an adeno-associated virus (AAV) 6 capsid that demonstrates efficiency in lung epithelial cell transduction in a mouse model using imaging with the IVIS ® SpectrumCT in vivo optical imaging system.

CAR-T therapy has achieved tremendous success in treating blood malignancies, however treating solid tumors with this therapy has proven to be challenging due to several factors such as on-tumor, off-tumor toxicity. Read this case study where researchers from University of Pennsylvania created a mouse model that expresses tumor associated antigens in normal tissue to study off-tumor CAR-T cell toxicity. These studies used optical imaging on the IVIS ® platform to longitudinally monitor off-tumor antigen expression, tumor progression, and CAR-T cell trafficking in live animals.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) describes a progressive pathology that affects the liver. Fat accumulation causes fatty liver (NAFL) or steatosis to develop, which leads to lipotoxicity and in turn induces liver inflammation and apoptosis, resulting in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH can progress to fibrosis and then cirrhosis, which in some cases will lead to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Read this case study to learn how non-invasive preclinical in vivo imaging was used to longitudinally visualize, quantify, and diagnose NASH with the goal of investigating the efficacy of liver fibrosis-preventing drugs on NAFLD progression.

Introducing Vega ® - a novel ultrasound system that combines automated, hands-free technology with high-throughput capability for preclinical research. Hands-free - Automated transducer positioning and movement Easy to use - Requires minimal training Fast high-throughput imaging of 3 mice in just a few minutes 3D widefield acquisitions enabling whole subject imaging Multiple modes for multiple applications

Instrument background occurs when excitation light leaks through the emission filter. This occurs more frequently when the excitation and emission filters are narrowly separated. The ring you see is a result of non specific light reflecting off of the stage at an incident angle and passing through the filter causing what appears as leakage around the edges.

Scientists continue to explore several options to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection with hundreds of therapeutics at various phases of development. At the start of the pandemic, several factors hampered the rapid identification of potential SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics, including a limited understanding of the infection mechanism of the virus and the host immune response. Read this literature review to learn how scientists utilized non-invasive in vivo bioluminescence imaging to study SARS-CoV-2 progression and host immune response, as well as evaluating the efficacy of various antiviral strategies.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina use automated, high throughput ultrasound and acoustic angiography as an alternative to MRI for tracking glioblastoma in mice. These results highlight the potential of ultrasound imaging using the Vega ™ for tracking tumor progression particularly in later stages when tumors are more easily detectable. Furthermore, these findings suggest that the Vega system could be used in drug discovery research to prioritize compounds for further evaluation before committing to MRI, which is more time-consuming and expensive.

We recently spoke to researchers based at the Centre for Advanced Imaging at the University of Queensland in Australia who have been utilizing various pre-clinical in vivo imaging techniques to explore the uptake of custom-designed nanomedicines at different stages of brain cancer. In this article, Professor Kris Thurecht, Dr. Zachary H. Houston, and Dr. Nick Fletcher discuss the rationale behind their approach and the personalized therapeutic potential of this methodology for patients with brain tumors in the future.

This tech note outlines procedures on using auto-exposure on the IVIS® preclinical optical imaging platform using Living Image® software.

Being able to characterize and monitor the extent of fibrosis, steatosis, and inflammation in the liver non-invasively is valuable to clinicians and researchers to comprehensively stage disease progression and evaluate therapeutic response. Read this review to learn how researchers used the Vega® automated, hands-free, high-throughput ultrasound system as a turnkey solution to evaluate, monitor, and quantify liver disease progression in murine models. Studies include: Evaluation of NAFLD using a mouse western diet mouse model Disease progression in a chemically induced mouse fibrosis model Monitoring treatment response in Mdr2 knockout mice Multimodal imaging of NAFLD/NASH progression in mouse model

This study uses a new imaging technique whereby bacteria consume a gold nanoprobe which aggregates intracellularly upon irradiation. Aggregation enhances signal intensity enabling visualization of unprecedented low quantities of bacteria. Multimodal in vivo fluorescence was used to locate bacterial colonies.

Precision biologics are playing an increasingly powerful role as part of therapeutic strategies such as monoclonal antibodies, bispecific and multispecific antibodies, recombinant proteins, vaccines, and targeted next-generation cell and gene therapies. Harnessing large molecules to create safe and effective therapies is a complex and expensive undertaking. So we help scientists like you develop and streamline your entire biologics workflow, helping you overcome the challenges to bringing consistent, high quality, biological medicines to market – faster than ever before. Explore our solutions and technologies that cover areas of: Biomolecular discovery Biologics characterization Investigating immune function Manufacturing and QA/QC Safety and efficacy

The ability to image protein-protein interactions (PPIs) in vivo has important implications for a wide variety of biological research endeavors, including drug discovery and molecular medicine. The visual representation, characterization, quantification, and timing of these biological processes in living subjects can complement in vitro or cell culture methodologies. Read this white paper to learn how bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) was used to monitor PPIs using non-invasive in vivo imaging.

Adoptive cell transfer using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T) cell therapy in which the patient’s T-cells are extracted, genetically modified, and transferred back into the patient with the aim that these altered cells can recognize and attack cancer cells has revolutionized cancer immunotherapy. Although very successful in treating hematological malignancies, CAR T therapy is more challenging in treating solid tumors. Learn how researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington used the IVIS ® Spectrum non-invasive imaging system to evaluate the synergistic antitumor effect of co-delivery of CAR T cells and STING-agonists via biopolymer scaffolds in an orthotopic murine model of pancreatic cancer.

Optical imaging detects photons in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. PET and SPECT imaging instruments are sensitive to photons in the much higher energy range of x-rays and gamma rays. While the PET and SPECT probes which can generate Cerenkov light in tissue will continue to produce the relevant gamma- and x-rays, visible photons will be produced from the Cerenkov emission, which the IVIS® will detect.