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Monash’s ARA-MBI Preclinical Imaging Facility

Overview

A new, state-of-the-art, purpose-built preclinical imaging facility opened in 2018 for use by researchers at the Alfred precinct.

The facility includes:

  • A 9.4T small animal imaging system capable of a range of imaging applications including nervous system, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and renal systems.
  • A NanoPET-CT imaging system, capable of high-resolution, high-sensitivity PET and X-Ray CT scanning, for use in applications such as examining glucose metabolism, receptor/enzyme/transporter mapping and high-resolution assessment of the anatomy of tissues.
  • A world first magnetic particle imaging (MPI) system that uses iron oxide nanoparticles to rapidly produce 2D and 3D images.
9.4T MRI

Overview

The 9.4T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system is optimised for rodent and high-resolution sample imaging. The ultra-high magnetic field coupled with rodent cryocoils provides structural and functional images with higher resolution and signal to noise ratio compared with standard MRI.

Expertise

  • Optimised for rodent and high-resolution sample imaging
  • Ultra-high magnetic field coupled with rodent cryocoils provides structural and functional images with higher resolution and signal to noise ratio compared with standard RF coils, along with significant reduction of scan time
  • Small animal imaging
  • Ex vivo samples
  • Image objects as large as 7cm in diameter and as small as 3mm
  • Can image tissues of interest at ultra-high resolution with isotropic resolutions up to 15 um3

Equipment

  • Phased array mouse and rat receive only cryoprobes for brain imaging
  • Phased array receive only coils for rat brain imaging
  • Single channel receive only coils for rat and mouse brain imaging
  • Phased array mouse and rat cardiac surface coils for heart imaging
  • Transmit/Receive volume coils for 1H imaging with 23mm, 40mm, 72mm, or 86mm diameters
  • 40mm 19F and 23Na coils for use with rodents or samples
  • Arterial spin labelling coil (ASL) for rats
  • Isoflurane anaesthesia and animal monitoring system including pulse oximetry
  • Full range of beds to cater for most rodent species and samples

Access and Contact

Highly experienced staff can assist researchers with study design and image analysis. For general research enquiries contact:

Dr Robert Brkljaca
ARA-MBI Facility Manager and Imaging Support Scientist
Monash University
manager.mbi@monash.edu
Robert.brkljaca@monash.edu
Pre-clinical – Monash Biomedical Imaging

PET-CT Small Animal Imaging System

Overview

This system was launched at the Alfred Research Alliance in 2012. It provides high-resolution, high-efficiency PET and X-Ray CT scanning for in vivo small animal imaging.

This small animal PET-CT scanner is located at the Alfred Research Alliance-Monash Biomedical Imaging (ARA-MBI) site in Prahran.

The Mediso NanoPET/CT is a small animal preclinical scanner suitable for a wide variety of radioactive tracer imaging and computer tomography (CT). Typical applications for PET tracers include oncology, cardiology, metabolic, neurodegeneration and obesity research. The CT component is ideally suited to a number of applications including bone, organ, anatomy and developmental biology research.

Expertise

  • High sensitivity and resolution; increasing signal to noise, reducing radiation exposure and scan times – ultimately reducing study numbers and enabling multiple scans in the same animal
  • Multi-bed increases throughput and ensures efficient use of radioligands
  • Combined PET/CT enables precision anatomical localisation of radiotracer without requirement for MRI (dependent on application)
  • Physiologically gated acquisitions for optimal in-vivo lung imaging
  • Wide range of molecular imaging and computed tomography applications for studies of animal models of health and disease, drug discovery and toxicology
  • Bench to bedside and back again translational applications
  • Receptor/enzyme/transporter mapping, evaluation of metabolism, glucose metabolism, drug receptor occupancy/kinetics, molecular/anatomical biomarkers for disease aetiology, ontology, prognosis, therapeutic efficacy, patient segregation etc
  • High-resolution anatomical assessment of both soft and hard tissue in vivo, post-mortem, surgical resections/biopsies

Equipment

  • 16cm gantry bore to accommodate imaging of mice, rats and rabbits with interchangeable beds and radiation shields
  • Low dose CT protocols (<50mGy for a three minute scan) are compatible with longitudinal rodent studies
  • Imaging beds provide integrated animal support, with gas anaesthesia and controlled heating and monitoring
  • Open access system with a one-step animal loading procedure and single motion PET and CT acquisition to enable automatic fusion of PET and CT images
  • Reconstructed PET resolution is 1mm and CT resolution is down to 10?m
  • Axial scanning up to 300mm and transaxial scanning up to 125mm

Access and Contact

Researchers interested in accessing the PET-CT system should contact the facility. For general research enquiries contact:

Dr Robert Brkljaca
ARA-MBI Facility Manager and Imaging Support Scientist
Monash University
manager.mbi@monash.edu
Robert.brkljaca@monash.edu
PET-CT (ARA-MBI) – Monash Biomedical Imaging

Magnetic Particle Imaging System (MPI)

Overview

ARA-MBI operates the world’s first MPI instrument that is paired with a localised hyperthermia system (HYPER module) and CT scanner. Working synergistically together, these three technologies offer a preclinical theranostic platform that delivers exceptional image quality to detect, and treat, therapeutic targets. The MPI can operate with or without the HYPER module and CT scanner.

Expertise

  • The Magnetic Insight system currently offers the world’s highest sensitivity and resolution of MPI images
  • Simple to operate, eliminating the need for a dedicated scanner operator and allowing researchers to acquire their own data
  • Avoids the radiation burden of PET, and when used without CT removes the x-ray dose
  • Molecular imaging with targeted iron oxide particles
  • Tracking of cells labelled with iron oxide particles
  • Controlled heating of tissue after iron oxide accumulation
  • Quantitative molecular imaging
  • Localised hyperthermia

Equipment

  • Integrated CT module, allowing the exact localisation of magnetic particles
  • HYPER module, offering millimetre heating accuracy and real-time monitoring of the therapeutic heat dose
  • 0-5.7 T/m (variable) field strength
  • X gradient coil set (two individual main coils) magnet configuration
  • Field of view: 6 cm x 6 cm x 12 cm
  • RF transmit strength: >15 mT in (X,Z)
  • 2 transmit channels (X,Z), 2 receive channels (X,Z)
  • Image sequences: 2D projection, 3D tomographic
  • Animal bed with fiducials for multimodal co-registration

Access and Contact

Researchers interested in accessing the MPI system should contact the facility. For general research enquiries contact:

Dr Robert Brkljaca
ARA-MBI Facility Manager and Imaging Support Scientist
Monash University
manager.mbi@monash.edu
Robert.brkljaca@monash.edu
Magnetic Particle Imaging (ARA-MBI) – Monash Biomedical Imaging