Preclinical Imaging System Chosen As A Critical Tool

The University of Notre Dame has added Caretream’s Albira system to its In Vivo Imaging Core, part of the Notre Dame Integrated Imaging Facility (NDIIF). With the addition of PET, SPECT, and CT capabilities, the NDIIF will now better serve the imaging research needs of faculty from the departments of Biology, Engineering, Physics, and Chemistry and Biochemistry. The Albira system will immediately enable NDIIF to support researchers studying oncology, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and neurodegenerative disease. According to W. Matthew Leevy, PhD, Research Professor and Managing Director of the In Vivo Imaging Core, the Albira system provides a 3D quantitative capability to study biological processes at the tissue and cellular level and will be used in a wide variety of research studies. “PET imaging will provide a critical tool for our researchers studying tumour metabolism and proliferation. SPECT will be utilised for the development of novel probes for the detection of cancer or infection. And CT will be valuable to our researchers studying bone degradation and re-growth. We also anticipate using the imaging system as an academic teaching tool for medical physics curricula.“

What attracted NDIIF to the Albira is its unprecedented advance in detector technology. The Albira system features a unique modular architecture that introduces an exclusive, patented single crystal detector and associated electronics for rapid acquisition and reconstruction of highly resolved quantitative PET and SPECT images. This approach contrasts with the pixelated crystal technology used in most current PET and SPECT systems today.

Dr Leevy was also pleased by the Albira’s ease of use: “Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the Albira is that it is virtually ‘plug and play’. The experts at Carestream and OncoVision have done an excellent job of distilling this complex technology down to its basic elements. Image acquisition is literally ‘push button’. We were able to collect very nice PET and SPECT images on day one after installation." With their existing Carestream In-Vivo MS FX PRO system (used for high resolution fluorescence, luminescence, radio-isotopic, and X-ray imaging) and the Albira system for PET, SPECT and CT, Notre Dame now has the ability to use seven distinct imaging modalities for their small animal research with just two instruments.