INVESTIGATION OF CONTRAST-ENHANCED IN-VIVO ANIMAL IMAGING WITH MICRO-CT

摘要

Rapid progress in molecular biology, much sparked by the human Genome Project, is opening a new era in medicine and biology. The development of in-vivo micro-imaging technology for small animals (mice and rats) has generated unprecedented opportunities for studying the structural and physiologic properties exhibited by different genes in a cost-effective and low-risk means. This knowledge, in turn, will help guide the study in human genetic system. Micro-computed tomograph (microCT) with resolution on the scale of micrometer is a new technique for obtaining the 3D images of the internal structure of small objects. Its biological and medical applications include noninvasively screening animals for genetic mutations and identification as well as monitoring of structural and physiology properties that are linked with specific genes. This paper reports on our preliminary investigation on two aspects of this new imaging technique: (1) an initial experience of instrumentation capability and limitation, and (2) the contrast enhancement strategy necessary for organ-specific anatomic and physiologic studies.