Resources
The Center provides imaging facilities and equipment for campus research programs. These facilities and equipment include:
- Group Wiki
- Mock Siemens 3T Trio and Siemens 3T Allegra Web-Scheduler
- 600 MHz Varian MR System
- Advanced AC magnetic field applicator for small animal hyperthermia treatment
- 512 Channel Bi-Wavelength Near-Infrared Imager
- Magnetom Trio 3T
- Reference library
- Computer laboratory
- Electronic shop
- Mechanical shop
- Human subject preparation area
- Ultrasound-Visual Sonics Vevo 2100
- INVEON SPEC/PET/CT
- Diffuse Optical Imaging Laboratory (DOIL)
3T Allegra/Trio Mock Magnets
The Center also has a subject preparation area and two mock 3T magnets that were custom-built to simulate the Allegra scanning experience in every way. It is utilized for studies requiring training, but not scanning in the magnet environment. It also provides subjects with the opportunity to habituate to the magnet environment prior to their participation in a particular study.
600 MHz Varian MR System
The 14.1T Varian system consists of a vertical wide bore magnet (89mm) and a 600 MHz Varian Unity/Inova NMR spectrometer equipped with four identical receiver channels and gradient coils with maximum strength of 90 Gauss/cm. The instrument is capable of performing MR imaging and spectroscopic measurements. The maximum usable magnet diameter is 25mm. Besides the commercial 2.5 cm diameter RF coil available for proton imaging, the Center also has several custom built coils. The system is one of only seven such magnets in operation in the world.
FOV Adjustable RF Coil
3D Image Rat Brain
Advanced AC magnetic field applicator for small animal hyperthermia treatment
This applicator was custom built specifically for small animal experiments. The applicator site has a gap height of 4 cm, which is suitable for treating mice and other small animals. The coil uses a solenoid made of 10 turns of copper tube (diameter, 6cm; Q~70 at f= 800KHz). The AC magnetic field frequency f ranges from 250KHz to 1MHz with a field amplitude of up to 10kA/m.
Magnetom Trio 3T
The MAGNETOM Trio 3T is the newest addition of the latest technology to the Biomedical Imaging Center. The Trio 3T is the first generation of a true 3T whole-body MR system. This instrument offers markedly enhanced spatial resolution, decreased scanning times, and state-of-the-art imaging accuracy. Dedicated to research and clinical research users, the 3T has superior imaging with in-line processing, and may be used for whole-body applications. This Trio 3T is in a unique class of its own.
The Trio comes with the revolutionary TIM technology, which provides whole body imaging with local image quality in a single exam. TIM provides the flexibility to scan any part of the body without interrupting the exam for coil or patient positioning.
Coils:
- 32 Channel Head Coil
- 12 Channel Head Coil
- Pulse Teq 31P Dual Rigid 10 cm Loop Coil (Only Animal Use)
- Neck Coil
- Spine Coil
- Abdomen Coil (Body Matrix)
- Knee Coil
- Wrist Coil
- Small Flex Coil
- Large Flex Coil
- 1 Channel Rat Coil (Only Animal Use)
Inventory Descriptions:
- Siemens High Performance Host Computer and Imaging Processor (Trio) This unit uses Syngo MR Software.
- Body Matrix Coil (Trio) The body coil contains 2 clusters with 3 elements each and may be used as a 2, 4 or 6 channel coil. This coil may be used with head, neck, and spine coils and is used when scanning the thorax (including heart), abdomen, pelvis and hips.
- 12 Channel Head Coil (Trio) This coil has 4 clusters of 3 elements each. It may be used as a 4, 8 or 12 channel head coil. The 12 channel head coil may be used alone or with the neck coil for such exams as brains, temporo mandibular joints, and MR angiography.
- Matrix Neck Coil (Trio) This coil contains 2 clusters with 2 elements each and either 2 or 4 channels may be used while scanning. The neck coil may be used alone or with the spine or head coil. It is used to scan cervical spines, soft tissue necks including larynx and esophagus, MR angiography, and mediastinum.
- Spine Matrix Coil (Trio) The spine coil consists of 8 clusters with 3 elements each therefore this may be used as an 8, 16 or 24 channel coil. The entire spine has coverage with this coil. The spine coil may be used with the head coil, neck coil and any of the flex coils.
- Knee Coil by Invivo (Trio) This is an 8 channel transmit/receive coil.
- Wrist Coil by Invivo (Trio) This is an 8 channel transmit/receive coil.
- Large Flex Coil (Trio) This coil measures 21cm x 52cm and is a 4 element receive only coil. It may be used for imaging medium to large shoulders, hips, knees, and abdominal examinations.
- Small Flex Coil (Trio) This coil measures 17cm x 36cm and is a 4 element receive only coil. It may be used for imaging small to medium shoulders, wrists, elbows, and ankles.
- Wireless Physio Control (Trio) This control is used to trigger and synchronize measurements for cardiac and respiratory motion. It includes a peripheral sensor that attaches to a finger for pulse, an ECG signal sensor for the heart, and a breathing sensor that is attached to the chest.
- Brainlogics MR Digital Projector (Trio) This projector, along with 2 mirrors and projector screen, allows subjects to view stimuli while in the MR unit getting scanned. It is a DLP projector with 1024 x 768 resolutions.
- 32 Channel Head Coil (Trio) This coil allows for increased signal to noise ratio for better images and faster scanning. It is a receive only phased array coil.
- Rapid GmbH Coil by Biomedical (Trio) This is a birdcage configuration transmit receive coil that is used for small rodents or birds. The resonator length is 100mm with an inner diameter of 72mm.
- Brainlogics Button Boxes (Trio) These button boxes strap to the subjects wrists for security and have 10 response buttons. They are fiber optic.
- Head Phones with Microphone (Trio) This is a noise cancelling head phones and microphone system that can be used to correspond with, listen and record the subjects.
- Button Boxes (Trio) This is a 4 finger fiber optic button box set.
- Button Boxes (Trio) This is an 8 finger fiber optic button box set.
- Tabletop Pulse Oximeter V3304 by Smiths Medical NOT MRI COMPATABLE!! This shows digital SpO2 and heart rate.
The Trio and its coils provide state-of-the-art images of any system or body part of the body. Enjoy the pictures of the installation of the newest member of the Biomedical Imaging Center. There are high speed fiber-optic network connections to a variety of campus computing and imaging resources such as the National Center for Supercomputing Appications.
Ultrasound-Visual Sonics Vevo 2100
Non-invasive, real-time in vivo imaging with high resolution has defined Visual Sonics contribution to small animal micro-imaging. Innovation has continued with the Vevo 2100. There have been a number of technological firsts, “Our engineering team has developed the world’s first high frequency linear array transducers and has developed strong intellectual property in this area” remarked Desmond Hirson, Vice President of Engineering.
The Vevo 2100 provides researchers the flexibility to conduct longitudinal studies on a range of models including the mouse, rat, zebra fish, and rabbit. These models play an important role in translating research from the laboratory to the clinic. “The wide field of view, broad depth of focus and multiple focal zones will allow researchers to image structures never seen before; this is really exciting” stated Dr. Stuart Foster, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Visual Sonics.
Visual Sonics is the world’s leading developer of high-resolution, ultrasound-based, in vivo micro-imaging systems designed specifically for non-invasive preclinical research. The company’s enabling technology allows researchers at the world’s most prestigious pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, hospitals and universities to conduct research into cardiovascular disease, cancer, and developmental biology including genetic research, phenotypic study and drug development. Only Visual Sonics platforms combine high-resolution, real time in vivo imaging at reasonable cost with ease-of-use, portability and no negative biological effects. www.visualsonics.com
Left: Sagittal scan of a mouse prostate. Right: The urethra which drains the bladder runs between the lobes. The prostate can be found below the bladder.
INVEON SPEC/PET/CT
MIL Services
BIC-MIL provides following services to the scientific community:
- Synthesis of imaging agents in quantities that allow for in vitro and in vivo assays including conjugation and labeling (with fluorophores or radioisotopes), and physicochemical tests such as appearance, label stability, pH, osmolality and specific activity, chemical purity and identity assessed with TLC, and HPLC-MS instrumentation
- Large-scale chemical synthesis of imaging compounds with demonstrated biological activity in primary assays and evaluation of the final product sterility including bacterial endotoxin levels, and membrane filter integrity
- Evaluation of synthesized compounds for receptor binding (in cell cultures) and cellular selectivity (in tissue samples) studies
- Providing consultation on experimental design and/or procedures, the availability of individual chemical compounds and/or reagents, and the feasibility of synthesis of synthetic structures
- Providing expertise in radiolabeling of multifunctional nanoparticles including preformed targeted liposomes and dendrimer nanoparticles
- Radiolabeling of well-characterized unimodal imaging agents, which are commercially available for PET/SPECT imaging
- Performing minor surgeries including placement of intravascular catheter for agent injections and serial blood collections
- Providing expertise in development of advanced imaging protocols to assess various biological processes within living animals
- Performing in vivo PET/SPECT/CT quantitative 3-D imaging including biodistribution and blood clearance studies to assess organ-specific uptake of an imaging agent
MIL Resources
The Molecular Imaging Laboratory (MIL) within Biomedical Imaging Center (BIC) at Beckman Institute is a unique, highly instrumented and adaptable facility designed for development, synthesis, bioconjugation and testing of multimodal targeted agents to monitor biological processes within living animals. In the addition, this facility will be used in material science to perform various tests to assess material characteristics and properties. It occupies about 1000 square feet divided into four specialized areas:
- Small animal imaging
- Molecular and cell biology
- Bioconjugation and radiochemistry
- Sterile surgery
which are all supported by state-of-the-art resources.
A central feature of the small animal imaging area is a hybrid dedicated Siemens Inveon triple-modality microPET/SPECT/CT scanner equipped with multiple pinhole and parallel hole collimators, acquisition and image processing workstations, and BioVet monitoring system which allows for rapid evaluation of radiotracers¿ in vivo biodistribution and specific uptake within the organ of interest. The scanner is highly adaptable allowing for various multimodal configurations combining anatomical (X-ray CT) with functional (SPECT or PET) imaging modalities.
Adjacent molecular and cell biology resource is equipped with a CO2 cell culture incubator which will allow for culturing various cells, two biosafety hoods, and complete molecular biology instrumentation including BioRad Western Blotting station, MicroProbe manual histology stainer, tissue homogenizer, and BioTek microplate reader.
Bioconjugation and radiochemistry suite is equipped with Perkin-Elmer Wizard2 gamma counter and two radiochemistry hoods with dose calibrators. Stainless steel benches are available for scientists and include rotary evaporator with both low and high vacuum capacity, temperature-controlled magnetic stirrer, pH meter, oven, analytical balances, and two fume hoods. In addition, the facility is equipped with a full array of chromatography, including the TLC plate scanner, and analytical Agilent 1260 HPLC utilizing multiple solvent delivery modules, autosampler, fraction collector, and a whole range of detectors including PDA, refractive index, and radiation detectors.
Surgery suite is supported by state-of-the-art resources, which allow performing various sterile surgeries including intravenous catheter placement for systemic agents or drugs administration and serial blood collections. This section is equipped with stainless steel benches, gas anesthesia vaporizer and delivery system, Leica dissecting microscope, and custom-designed biomonitoring system to assess various hemodynamic parameters in vivo including heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respiratory rate, and body temperature.
microCT analysis of a mouse chow
Cu-64 microPET-CT imaging
Visit the Beckman Molecular Imaging Laboratory for more information.
Diffuse Optical Imaging Laboratory (DOIL)
An ISS Inc. frequency domain oxymeter with 24 detectors and 192 sources operating at three wavelengths provides whole-head mapping of both hemodynamic (Near Infrared Spectroscopy; NIRS) and neuronal (Event Related Optical Signals; EROS) brain activity in human subjects. The system is capable of quantitative measurements of hemodynamic parameters such as concentrations of oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin and pulse waveforms; while simultaneously measuring fast changes in optical scattering associated with neuronal membrane polarization, which together provide unique information on neurovascular coupling. In addition to the optical recording system, DOIL is home to a Magstim200 Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) system and a Polaris Vicra 3D localizer for positioning the optical and TMS probes accurately over brain structures, and a 32 channel EEG/ERP system. The laboratory can be used for a wide range of clinical and basic studies of cognitive neuroscience questions, including studies requiring combined spatial and temporal resolution, neurovascular coupling analyses, direct manipulation of neural function, as well as studies conducted across the lifespan or in clinical populations where other imaging modalities may be constrained.
