Anatomy & relaxometry

To monitor physiological changes and pathologies development in animals noninvasively, our facility offers a wide variety of noninvasive in vivo imaging systems: ASPECT 1T MRI, Bruker BioSpec 9.4T MRI and Vevo 2100 Ultrasound. The ASPECT 1T MRI can provide whole animal anatomical images. Specifically, one can evaluate and monitor the anatomy of organs of interest such as limbs, spine, kidney layers, and lungs. To image smaller structures such as the pancreas and ovaries or specific brain structures (hypothalamus, ventricles, corpus callosum etc.) we recommend the Bruker BioSpec 9.4T MRI, which has higher sensitivity and resolution. Another method which can be implemented by MR imaging is relaxometry. T1, T2 and T2* relaxometry maps of areas of interest can provide quantitative tissue characterization. For example, using T2 relaxometry one can differentiate between brain lesions and cancerous tissue. In addition, T1 or T2 relaxometry can shed light on tissue permeability using contrast agents. The Vevo 2100 Ultrasound is mainly used for abdominal organs (kidneys, intestines, pancreas, ovaries etc.), embryo development and 2D heart functional imaging.

 

Our facility also offers quantitative techniques to support and validate the in vivo imaging results. Read about whole slice imaging at Slide Scanner.