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Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Core Facility

Equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for
in vivo small animal magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy

Areas of Expertise:

• Morphological MRI

• Angiography (MRA)

• Cardiac functional imaging

• Neurological fMRI

• Diffusion-Weighted Imaging (DWI)

• Tumor morphology and function

• MR Spectroscopy (single voxel and CSI-Chemical Shift Imaging)

• Molecular-Targeted MRI

Types of Studies:

• Morpholigical MRI provides information on lesion/tumor location and extent (e.g. tumor size and growth).

• MRA provides information on arterial/venous vasculature. For cancer studies, new blood vessel development (angiogenesis) can be determined.

• For neurological studies, MRA can establish blood vessel dilation or constriction.

• DWI (diffusion-weighted imaging) can provide information on alterations in water diffusion during disease progression.

• MRS can provide important information on tissue/organ metabolism that can indicate progressive disease state.

• All MR methods can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a possible therapeutic agent or therapeutic method in decreasing or eradicating a disease.

Monitoring:

• Cardiac and respiratory monitoring and gating device (ECG triggering signal).

• Stereotactic small-animal cradles for holding the mice and rats during MR acquisitions.

• Isoflurane anesthetic machines.

• There are a variety of RF surface and volume coils suitable for rat and mouse imaging are also available for both systems and new devices are always under construction.

• Facility includes a conveniently located, well equipped surgery room used for preparing the animals for MR exams and a wide assortment of supporting equipment, i.e. anesthesia machines, MR compatible vital signs monitors (SA Instruments), infusion pumps (Harvard Apparatus, heading pads, LCD display microscope for micro-surgeries.

• Variety of perishable supplies used in animal preparation are provided by the facility.

• The prep room is also equipped for pre- and post MRI investigations, an area for setting up tail-vein catheters for intravenous injections (e.g. contrast agents, therapeutic agents), and a surgical area for minor surgeries. Animals are maintained by the OMRF Laboratory Animal Resource Center (LARC) managed by Mike Lander.

Data Analysis:

• Lab contains 8 workstations for offline processing utilizing Mathematica and Image J (NIH) software programs