Imaging Services
High-quality imaging is essential for understanding disease biology, monitoring therapeutic response, and generating translational insights throughout preclinical development. Transpharmation provides comprehensive imaging services in conjunction with local university laboratories, giving researchers access to a broad range of advanced imaging technologies.
Supported by veterinary radiologists and medical physicists, Transpharmation can provide MRI for rodents, cats, and dogs, CT (4-slice, 64-slice, and micro-CT), PET and micro-PET, SPECT, ultrasound, plain and contrast radiographs and QMR.
Imaging Capabilities
Several imaging protocols can be used to quantify the efficacy of new therapeutics. These can be conventional anatomic measures of tumor size using MRI, ultrasound or radiographs. Functional measures include FDG PET imaging of glucose metabolism in tumors. Reduced glucose metabolism is a measure of therapeutic success.
- Dynamic contrast perfusion to assess blood brain barrier permeability and regional cerebral blood flow using either MRI or CT
- PET/CT imaging with additional coregistration to MRI images if required to quantify glucose uptake
- Imaging of brain tissues using standard PET radiopharmaceuticals, e.g., F-18 DOPA
- Imaging of brain tissues with custom developed radiopharmaceuticals linked to specific naturally occurring brain chemicals or novel compounds
Image processing extracts quantitative data from images. This can range from basic morphometric measurements made from images such as bone length or hippocampal volume to complex segmentation based on image signal intensities. Project specific image processing routines are developed using scripts in standard software packages or can be custom developed according to the needs of the project. Interpretation of the data is routinely provided.
Interventional imaging provides minimally invasive methods of collecting tissue or depositing cells in virtually any organ system. We have extensive experience in interventional procedures with all imaging modalities. The complexity can range from simple collection of fluid or cells to implantation of cells within a fetus to create chimera or place a device within an organ or vessel using an endovascular approach.
Depending on the research question to be answered several different imaging modalities can be used in musculoskeletal imaging. Magnetic Resonance Imaging provides images of the greatest range of tissues including bone marrow and changes in the internal structure of a joint, including articular cartilage changes, whereas CT can provide detailed images of bone structure. Nuclear medicine studies provide quantitative information on bone metabolic turnover and studies can be focused on a specific area or can include the entire skeletal system.
Quantitative Magnetic Resonance (QMR) is a non-invasive body composition assessment platform that enables rapid, repeated measurement of fat mass, lean mass, and total body water in awake animals. Animals are briefly restrained within a Plexiglas tube positioned inside a low-field magnet, where data acquisition is completed in approximately two minutes without the need for anesthesia or sedation. In obesity and metabolic disease research, QMR facilitates evaluation of whether body-weight changes are driven by reductions in fat mass, preservation of lean tissue, alterations in total body water, or a combination of these factors.
Our comprehensive imaging capabilities allow evaluation of any organ or body system. In addition to the sophisticated cross sectional imaging modalities we have extensive experience in plain and contrast radiography and ultrasound, including endocavitary evaluation. These modalities continue to have applications in the development of new therapeutic applications and we can help you to select the most appropriate and cost effective imaging method for your study.
- MRI or CT to demonstrate structural changes in response to interventions
- T1, T2, PD sequences
- Diffusion Tensor Imaging to evaluate changes in myelination
- Quantitative and qualitative assessment of morphological features or regions of interest by image processing
Applicable Portfolio Services
Have a program in mind?
Whether you require standalone imaging support or integrated imaging within a broader preclinical program, our team can help design an approach that delivers meaningful and actionable data. Contact Transpharmation to discuss the imaging capabilities best suited to your research objectives.