ULTRASOUND

Ultrasound imaging relies on the transmission of ultrasound waves through tissues and the acquisition of reflections from structures in the acoustical pathway. It has been used routinely to assess blood flow, cardiac function, fetal development, and to a more limited degree, tumor development. Small animal imaging utilizes high frequency probes that improve resolution at the price of shorter depth of penetration. The development of new techniques using targeted contrast microbubbles or nanoparticles allow real-time imaging of cellular and molecular events. Applications include detection of inflammatory disorders, targeted gene and drug delivery, and oncology research.

A Siemens ACUSON Sequoia 512 imaging system with a 15L8 transducer (15-8 MHz) is available in the CMGI for ultrasound imaging. The Sequoia 512 supports contrast agent imaging, color flow and Doppler. Peripherals include B/W and color printers, and a physiology module for cardiac gating.



MODALITY

MODEL

MANUFACTURER

RESOLUTION

PET Focus 20 Siemens ~1.3mm
PET P4 Siemens ~1.8mm
PET microPETI Custom-built ~1.8mm
SPECT microSPECT Siemens ~1mm
CT microCAT II Siemens 25-150 um
CT microCT Custom-built ~ 300um
MRI Biospec 7T Bruker 50-250 um
Ultrasound Sequoia Siemens ~ 120 um
Optical IVIS 100 Xenogen ~ 2mm
Autoradiography Storm 860 Amersham Biosciences 50-100 um


For additional information:

  1. Coatney RW. Ultrasound imaging: principles and applications in rodent research. ILAR J; 42:233-47, 2001.

  2. Cherry SR. In vivo molecular and genomic imaging: new challenges for imaging physics. Phys Med Biol; 49:R13-48, 2004.

  3. Ferrara K, Pollard R, Borden M. Ultrasound microbubble contrast agents: fundamentals and application to gene and drug delivery. Annu Rev Biomed Eng; 9:415-47, 2007.

  4. Borden, MA, Zhang H, Gillies RJ, Dayton PA, Ferrara KW. A stimulus-responsive contrast agent for ultrasound molecular imaging. Biomaterials; 29:597-606, 2008.




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